What is HRM?

Our members answer

Holistic Resource Management (HRM) is an ecosystem approach to resource management that improves the practitioner’s land, quality of life, and profit margins through goal setting, decision making and monitoring processes. It is knowing that all resources are interrelated and understanding the relationships among resources, activities, and external influences and then evaluating the impact each decision may have - intended and otherwise. Planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling all activities are conducted to best accomplish goals and objectives. HRM also involves accurately forecasting and maintaining flexibility to change quickly to optimize outcomes and reduce risks.

HRM does not advocate any single technique or practice (it is not a grazing system) and all specific tools or management practices are considered in the whole or total context. These tools must restore or enhance the ecological processes of energy capture, water cycling, nutrient flow, and vegetation dynamics on which rangeland health and sustainability depend. To this end, a variety of tools are available including human creativity, technology, rest, fire, grazing, animal impact, living organisms, money, and labor.

No decisions concerning tools or management practices are accepted or rejected without thinking through the many ramifications a single action can produce. A solution is acceptable only if it is economically and socially sound and makes progress toward the holistic goal. It should pass the following testing questions:

1. Does the action address the root cause of the problem?
2. Does this action address the weakest point of social, biological, and financial aspects of the problem?
3. Which action provides the greatest return in terms of time and money spent?
4. Is the action ecologically, financially, and socially sustainable?

Holistic Management is a new framework for managing your agricultural business. It offers a set of principles to apply and a process to follow for the purpose of making decisions that are more effective at creating your desired outcome. When applying the principles, you'll learn to see the economics, the ecology, and the human relationships of your business as intrinsically intertwined; and you'll learn how to achieve and keep each of these components healthy and functioning at its optimum. It will be this healthy balance that propels you toward your desired successful outcome.
— Peggy Sechrist

HRM is a set of criteria used for better decision-making on natural resources management.
—Mike McMurry

One of the things I feel is missing most from lots of people's minds regarding HRM is that it's primarily a DECISION MAKING MODEL.. I feel that some people try to put HRM into all kinds of slots, but about the only one it fits nicely in is the "decision model" definition, for me anyways.

Now, there's lots that flows from there, but to me, it all comes back to that—responsible decision making. I feel lots of people have problems with the "responsible" part. To me, this means we have to consider others in what we do. That includes family members, the wildlife, our neighbors, the impact of what we do on the environment and habitats, etc., etc..

Sometimes it's difficult to have the discipline to get above yourself and start thinking of others. I mess up all the time, and the HRM model always brings me back in line sooner or later, as long as I pay attention to what Allan has written.
—Jim Reed

HRM is a process used to decide who you are; what you want and how you are going to get it.
—Walt Davis

Holistic Resource Management can be an extremely effective method of changing conflict to collaboration by identifying shared values and finding a common goal, then building teams that work toward that goal using the testing guidelines and monitoring carefully to see that change happens in a direction that meets the needs of all parties.
—Peggy Jones

I consider HRM (HM) to be a planning process for managing the whole of each person, family, or group’s resources to meet established goals for that person, family, or group.
—John Hackley

Holistic Resource Management is a way of thinking while using a method or set of rules for decision-making pioneered by the visionary thinking of Allan Savory. Savory loved and grew up in the Bush of South Africa. As time passed he watched his beloved environment deteriorate. His thinking and studying soon proved these deteriorating effects were caused by “bad human decisions”. HRM is seeing and understanding the ripple effects of decisions. HRM is making decisions that have no detrimental effects, now or in the future, on the environment, individual, family, business or country.
—Malcolm Beck

HRM is an unique opportunity to gather with like minded people to learn more about our land, the environment and natural resources.
—Suzanne Tooley

Holistic management is a goal driven process to manage 3 resources (human,biological and financial) in a way that is economically, ecologically and socially sound.
—Don & Randee Halladay

If life is "what happens to you while you were making other plans," HRM forces the practitioner to recognize that reality. The system will only provide what it will provide and HRM focuses on planning to allow the system to do its best by removing inhibiting processes. What is left, is the benefits such a system provides to all life when it is allowed to realize its potential. A Cheyenne saying is, "the white man doesn't know where the center of the world is." The fact is if we are not the center, we must be part of the circle. Life doesn't have to be hard...
—Jerry L. Cooke, Ph.D

Holistic Resource Management is a unique way to make informed decisions that encourages people to consider everything and everyone who is part of all of the resources they are managing.
— L. Jane Moore

Holistic Management is a goal-driven process that seeks to balance environmental, financial and social concerns in achieving the goal.
— Christina Allday-Bondy

Holistic Management means dynamic creative thinkers providing an exciting, challenging environment in which to participate and learn. What do we learn? How to take our most precious vision of what life means and requires right now and far into the future and make decisions that move us toward that goal.
—dung beetle Patty

Experiencing HRM has brought "a heightened sense of awareness" to my life. The belief that everything that I do affects other life as well as my own presents responsible behavior as the preferred choice. Becoming more aware of my personal evolution, I'm more sensitive to the diversity that weaves life's' dependencies and patterns. In short, since becoming involved with HRM, I pay more attention.
—Art Roane