Name: Making Holistic Management Work: Adapting Whole Farm Planning Tools for Real-World Farm Advising
Start: 2026-09-22T15:30:00-0600
End: 2026-09-22T17:00:00-0600

Making Holistic Management Work: Adapting Whole Farm Planning Tools for Real-World Farm Advising

Tuesday September 22, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm MDT

Turquoise

Whole Farm Planning, rooted in the Holistic Management framework, has for decades been valued for its comprehensive approach to triple-bottom-line farm management and decision-making.
Yet many practitioners are seeking more practical, adaptable ways to integrate these tools into day-to-day advising and existing program models.
Designed for farm service providers with any level of prior exposure to Holistic Management, this workshop focuses on practical strategies for integrating Holistic Management and Whole Farm Planning tools into real-world farm advising.
Participants will explore ways to use these tools to help producers assess challenges in their specific farm context and identify clear priorities for action, while also sharing approaches that have worked in their own practice.
Co-led by HMI Education Director Ann Adams and farm and food business coach Stevie Schafenacker, this session emphasizes practical application rather than theory, focusing on adaptable use of core Whole Farm Planning tools such as Holistic Goals, Farm assessments such as Weak Link and Root Cause Analysis, and Holistic Decision Testing.
Drawing on real farm client experience, Stevie Schafenacker, who became an HMI Whole Farm Planning trainer in 2021, will share how these tools have been simplified, modified, and integrated into her work and invite a peer to peer share and discussion on ways these tools have and could be integrated into existing work.
Through mini case-based scenarios, peer exchange, and storytelling, participants will gain practical ideas for making Holistic Management more flexible, accessible, and effective in day-to-day work.

Speakers

Ann Adams

Education Director, Holistic Management International

Ann has worked in the nonprofit world for almost 25 years, creating and directing national programs, collaborating with over 100 non-profit and government entities to create positive impact among producers and land stewards seeking to build & maintain sustainable farms, ranches and... Read More →

Stevie Schafenacker

Principal, Independent Advisor

Stevie Schafenacker is an independent farm advisor who has worked with New England farmers for the past 10 years. She has provided business planning, financial literacy, and strategic decision-making assistance to more than 90 individual farm and food clients since charting her own... Read More →

Tuesday September 22, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm MDT
Turquoise

Business Planning and Development

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National Farm Viability Conference

Ann Adams

Stevie Schafenacker

Attendees (12)

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National Farm Viability Conference

Ann Adams

Stevie Schafenacker

Attendees (12)

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