Foraging Ahead: Quivira Coalition

When I was eight, my family went to New Mexico for Christmas vacation. For young me, New Mexico WAS a land of enchantment. From taking the tram to the top of a Sandia Peak and watching a hang glider launch off the side of the mountain, to driving around on Christmas Eve and marveling at the beauty of luminaria lining the adobe rooflines and driveways, those memories have stuck with me over decades. For a kid from the midwest the mountains, high mesas, desert landscapes and cultures that pre-date the founding of the United States by millenia was magical. 

It is with this magic in mind that I wanted to write this week’s Foraging Ahead about a regenerative farming and ranching powerhouse in Santa Fe, New Mexico called the Quivira Coalition. Quivira touches all the bases when it comes to what I want to share in this forum - people, policy, resources, and organization. 

I learned of the Quivira Coalition through their “Down to Earth” podcast. Host Mary-Charlotte Domandi interviews pioneering regenerative farmers and ranchers as well as scientists, writers and public land managers. I came to the podcast for an interview with one of my heroes, Will Harris of White Oak Pastures. Quivira hosts another podcast, “Regeneration Rising,” that shares the stories of new agrarians beginning their regenerative agriculture careers. The podcasts are both inspiring and informative and encouraged me to learn more about the organization producing them. Oh my, the Quivira Coalition does a lot!

Founded in 1997 by Courtney White, the Quivira Coalition occupies the “radical center” where disparate people with wide ranging views can come together, find (and expand) common ground, and collaborate toward a shared goal. These people include ranchers, conservationists, scientists and public land managers. Quivira believes that the natural functions that improve wildlife habitat, diversity, and watershed health are equally salient to sustainable livestock production. In fact, Quivira’s research shows that ranchers adopting progressive management practices are a vital partner in restoring ecosystems and building sustainable communities throughout the Southwest. 

As Laozi said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Fortunately, the Quivira Coalition has been walking on this trek for nearly thirty years. In that time they’ve built a network, a knowledge base, and a foundation of programs and resources that make the unimaginable not only possible, but practical. 

The centerpiece of that work is their New Agrarian Program, which trains future land stewards through apprenticeship, on-going mentorship, fellowships, and peer-to-peer wellness trainings that remain cognizant of the unique stresses of working in agriculture. With our aging farmer and rancher populations, it’s critical that we train the next generation. To date, Quivira has trained over 150 apprentices - 80% of whom are still managing working rangelands. Other graduates are involved in public land management and conservation policy roles.   

Another pillar of Quivira’s work is the Carbon Ranch Initiative, which implements sustainable management practices and shares proven results through hands-on workshops for land managers. This work improves ecosystem resilience while fostering community among the people most invested in this arid region to adapt and prosper. 

Quivira is also a repository of sustainable land management practices and research, which they share through open-source Technical Guides. The publications cover a broad range of practices from biochar to composting to water management and erosion control. They convene monthly land manager virtual meetings and offer workshops ranging from working dogs on regenerative ranches to restoring watersheds after a wildfire. 

For thirty years, the Quivira Coalition has hosted an annual conference. Later this October, in collaboration with Holistic Management International and the American Grassfed Association, Quivira will again host the Regenerate Conference. If you are at all interested in attending Regenerate, consider applying for a scholarship provided by our partners at FACT (Food Animal Concerns Trust). Our own FACE Ag Network Administrator Eric Boatti will travel to Santa Fe to share FACE's work during a conference roundtable, recruit ranchers to the network, absorb knowledge, and bring back even more resources to strengthen our work.

I’ve been blown away by my research into the coalition, and I can’t wait for what Eric will bring back for us from the conference! 

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