Mastering the 4 Stages of Drought Planning—Mindset, Planning, Action, & Timing

Drought is coming. The only question is whether you’ll be ready. This workshop gives you the plan, the tools, and the confidence to face it.
This four-hour workshop facilitated by Casey Wade, Rancher and CEO of the Dixon Water Foundation Ranches, and Wayne Knight, Rancher and HMI Professional Certified Educator, will help you learn how to move from a reactive response to drought to understanding how to prepare for the inevitable drought that happens in agricultural production. You will learn from real case studies of West Texas droughts that will help you see how this drought planning framework can make a difference. You will then learn the 6 components of a working drought plan and have the opportunity to use them in a case study scenario to reinforce your learning.
Learn how to determine green date, drought reserve, and dormant season onset as well as how to calculate forage need and how to match supply and demand and build a drought reserve buffer.
What you will walk away with
✓ A proven mindset framework to stay grounded and decisive when stress peaks.
✓ Rainfall analysis tools and trigger dates so you act on time, every time.
✓ A step-by-step process for destocking, forage management, and animal selection.
✓ A clear playbook for building back better after drought ends.
✓ Real cost-of-inaction numbers that make the case for acting early.
✓ Resources and tools to build your own working drought plan.

Contact Ann at anna@holisticmanagement.org with any questions.

Wayne Knight
As a young graduate with a Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Natal, South Africa, Wayne Knight traveled across the western US working on ranches in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, California, and New Mexico. He has worked on his family’s cattle ranch all his life and has had 27 years of ranching experience using Holistic Management. When Wayne joined the 11,000-acre family ranching business he first called himself a cattle rancher. He changed to calling himself a grass farmer. Later still, he called himself a soil-microbe farmer, though he has always marketed beef. Wayne became an HMI Certified Educator in 2006 and has spoken at numerous conferences in Southern Africa, trained and mentored farmers, hosted open days on his property, and has written about his positive results using Holistic Management. Through his enthusiasm for Holistic Management Wayne has traveled widely visiting farmers who practice high-density, long recovery grazing practices in Southern Africa, Australia, and the US. He now leads countless workshops for HMI, focusing on all aspects of Holistic Management.
Casey Wade
Casey Wade is a lifelong rancher and now serves as President and CEO of the Dixon Water Foundation’s Ranchers. Casey has been with the Foundation for 15 years, first serving as West Texas ranch manager before being promoted to Vice President of Ranching Operations. Casey has enjoyed caring for wildlife and livestock for many years. He is a graduate of Hardin Simmons University and has spent most of his career managing hunting and wildlife operations as well as livestock ranches. After a two year stay in Kenya, Africa, Casey was introduced to holistic land management while working with a wildlife management consulting firm. He was drawn to the idea of using livestock to improve degraded landscapes. At that point Casey began searching out further education and eventually a career in regenerative land management through ranching.