Sheep ranchings new generation focuses on innovation, conservation Special Sections

Meet Brittany Cole Bush

For the rest of us, especially those who did not come from landholding or ranching families and whose parents or in-laws are thus not just down the road from where we graze our animals, it’s time to think of creative solutions for how to support pastoral families. I’m not going to do that here, because it’s a big topic and this is already a bit long, so let’s put a pin in that for now. Today, pastoralism is looking like an increasingly adaptive lifeway for people looking around the proverbial corners of climate, class, and wealth disparity. As its stands, there are many aspects of a livelihood built around the care and managed movement of animals that Meet Brittany Cole Bush are at odds with modern life and human need that can leave those of us attempting to live this way caught between the tectonic plates of time. This program will engage the community to closely observe fire fuel reduction at work with grazing animals in some of Ojai’s most populated areas, bolstering participation in efforts to increase the Valley’s fire resilience. After beginning her career as an ag journalist and then working in New York, she returned to Kansas to raise a family and helped her parents transition their small family farm to grass-finished and pasture-based meats production, selling direct to local consumer and wholesale markets.

Meet Brittany Cole Bush

We care for one another, have pride in what we do, and are part of a regional guild of folks who are practitioners, entrepreneurs, educators, and the like who are running beside us with the shared mission of making our region a better place. All the while having a quality of life that is fulfilling, rewarding, full of friendship and camaraderie and it’s worth every square inch of sunburn, hours of thirst, chasing goats or guard dogs, or getting tangled up in electric fence netting. The Women Leading Regeneration on the Land Summit is Regenerative Rising’s celebration of the spirit and power of women leading from within a diverse spectrum of industries and backgrounds. We will explore the vital role of women in designing organizations, businesses, and our own lives from a worldview of potentiality, and using relational, regenerative and holistic principles that foster the healing of the land and people. If bringing your values to the workplace, home, or daily practices and gaining insight into how to improve the positive impact of your brand or service matters, then join us.

Pastoralism Prevailing

Cole is the owner-operator of Shepherdess Land and Livestock and Shepherdess Holistic Hides. Cole is a long-time Fibershed collaborator, advocate, and community member of the Fibershed network. Darlene Rini, PE, is a Director in the Risk & Hazards Division of Jensen Hughes and is based in Ventura County. She has a MSc in Structural Engineering from UC Berkeley, MSc in Fire Protection Engineering from University of Maryland, and an MSc in Disaster Risk Management & Climate Change Adaptation from Lund University in Sweden.

  • His insights into planning and operational fire management requirements are unique and will be applied for the benefit of the City.
  • She has served in and co-created human–, plant–, and animal–centered systems, all wish the purpose of restoring the ecologies they belong to—including the Elwha River watershed, the Bay Area, and the Cuyama Valley.
  • These behaviors seem rooted in anger and fear – emotions usually emerging from concern over loss of resources, of livelihood.
  • Ms. Rini’s diverse knowledge also expands into holistic wildfire and urban fire risk and social vulnerability assessments at the city/county scale to support decision making, policy, urban risk management and risk monitoring in developing and developed-country contexts.

Animals raised with dedicated herders and managers can be a force for good on the land, building biodiversity, sustaining soil, and keeping land out of the way of subdivision and plow. These behaviors seem rooted in anger and fear – emotions usually emerging from concern over loss of resources, of livelihood. Perhaps what we fear most is that we will not belong in the world that is unfolding. For people born and raised on multi-generational ranching operations, the thought of being the last generation to make an honest living, in a tangible way, on our family land must chill to the marrow.

Episode 11: Beyond Grass -Bridging Feed Gaps and Alternative Crops

This topic is full of nuance and couldn’t be more timely in the wake of the devastating wildfires raging across the West. We wove together a small group of folks that have either been harmed by it, are trying to stop it, or are learning to use it better, and it was a barn-burner of a lineup. Renowned agro-ecologist Nicole Masters led a riveting conversation exploring the wisdom of https://bookkeeping-reviews.com/ Glenn Elzinga of Alderspring Ranch , Charles Massy , and the youth of Brittany Cole Bush , a grazier seeking to be a part of the solution. This conversation was originally posted on Facebook Live, so for those of you who prefer to listen rather than watch we now made it available as a podcast. We can do good things with leases that incentivize and reward long-term stewardship.

  • It was informative and fun to learn about Brittany’s pathway into sheperding.
  • I’ll sacrifice style for practicality, and address these things in a bulleted form.
  • Her experience leans to the creative side, including costuming, fashion production, and pattern work, yet she has also owned her own upcycled clothing shop.
  • Grazing animals have played a central role in the evolution of so many landscapes around the world.

They will go over some of their own systems and journey in monitoring and research, but also discuss the low hanging fruit, and where one might wish to start when monitoring outcomes. Throughout the conversation, they’ll discuss the value and challenges of open source technology, and contributing to collective research and large data sets that can guide policy and bolster support for regenerative grazing and farming practices. Gaining access to capital in the form of loans and impact investments can be nearly impossible people who don’t look the part of a rancher, or come from an agricultural background.

STAGE DESIGN | Brittany Cole Art

In some cases all I manage to do is draw a circle around something I’ve identified as a sticking point, and in other cases I offer some suggestions. Take it all for what it’s worth, let me know what I’ve missed or you think I’ve got wrong, and let’s let this initiate an ongoing conversation. All photos are property of the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition. Nicholas promoted a new project TE is calling Communities of Practice. Samples, in the foreground a sweater from local artisanal brand Greg Lauren, handknit from fibers sourced from Irene Bennally and Katherine Tuckers’ flocks of desert churro. In the background, hemp in various forms from Rodale Institute, and a rack of clothing from Greg Lauren.

We’ll never share your email address and you can opt out at any time, we promise. Looking forward to another great episode – excited to learn about how she manages the animals. I’m so inspired after every episode, and really appreciate all the work you put into it. I was especially interested to hear the discussion related to “holistic” hides and the possibility that you may explore this topic in more depth in the future.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top