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GRAZING FOR CHANGE
Reno couple creates one of the nation’s first Savory Institute ranch models.
WRITTEN BY BARBARA TWITCHELL
PHOTO BY LEA HUETTEMAN, PATRICIA SMITH, AND COURTESY OF THE SMITH FAMILY
Abbey and Spencer Smith have fond memories of their childhoods, growing up on their families’ cattle ranches. It’s a lifestyle they always have loved, but one they fear is endangered.
Even as a child, Abbey began to notice disturbing signs — the shuttered farms, the dwindling ranching communities, the urban encroachment.
“I think I’ve always felt drawn to do something to improve the land,” Abbey says. “For me, it’s really like a calling.”
Spencer, a ranch manager for Stix Cattle Co. in Fernley, was driven by practical necessity. The droughts kept coming, the feed supply kept dwindling, and, despite his degree in agricultural business and years of experience, he was out of answers. He just wanted to learn how to grow more grasses and create more productive land.
New solutions
The idealistic wife and pragmatic husband went searching for new solutions. The internationally renowned Savory Institute is where they found them. The Savory Institute advocates holistic management, a method of land and resource management that regenerates land through production rather than depletion. The institute’s goal is to establish regional centers all over the world to promote this practice.
The Smiths were one of 90 applicants from 25 countries who applied to the Savory Institute in hopes of bringing a Savory hub to this region. They were one of 10 applicants selected. The resourceful couple then utilized crowdsourcing to help raise the $25,000 needed for airfare and training costs.
In August of 2014, they flew to Zimbabwe, Africa, for an intensive, two-month, hands-on training at a Savory Institute demonstration farm. Abbey says it was life changing.
Demonstration ranch
The Smiths now are developing The Jefferson Center for Holistic Management, a learning hub and demonstration ranch. The purpose of the center is to teach area farmers, ranchers, landowners, and land managers of private and public lands how to apply the techniques of holistic management. Through their center, the couple will provide training, workshops, and consultations throughout the region, which includes Northern Nevada, Northern California, Southern Oregon, and Southern Idaho.
They also will offer extensive, month-long work-study programs at the demonstration ranch, called Springs Ranch, located in Modoc County, Calif. The Smiths will apply the principles of holistic management to run an economically viable, self-sustaining cattle ranch in a way that helps improve soil health, decrease carbon emissions, and slow climate change.
“Holistic management is a decision-making framework based on social, economic, and ecological sustainability, and it really works!” Abbey says. “It’ll enable families to stay together on the land, and small communities to thrive. I see this as the only way to make that happen.”
She adds, stroking her 4-year-old daughter’s head, “For our child. For so many children.”
For details on this project and the Savory Institute, visit http://www.Jeffersonhub.com Or contact the Smiths directly at Abbey@jeffersonhub.com or Spencer@jeffersonhub.com.
Reno writer Barbara Twitchell admires the passion and enthusiasm of Abbey and Spencer, and truly hopes they are successful in their efforts.
