Martins Ridge Farm is managed using Holistic Management practises, which is a systems based thinking approach to managing resources developed by Allan Savoy.
The system relies on four principles which are;
Holistic Management
- Nature functions as a holistic community with a mutualistic relationship between people, animals and the land. If you remove or change the behaviour of any keystone species like large grazing animals, you have an unexpected and wide ranging negative impact on other areas of the environment.
- It is absolutely crucial that any agricultural planning system must be flexible enough to adapt to natures complexity, since all environments are different and have constantly changing local conditions.
- Animal husbandry using domestic species can be used as a substitute for lost keystone species. Thus when managed properly in a way that mimics nature, agriculture can heal the land and even benefit wildlife while at the same time benefitting people.
- Time and timing is the most important factor when planning land use. Not only is it crucial to understand how long to use the land for agriculture and how long to rest, it is exactly when and where the land is ready for that use and rest.
