John Humphries

John Humphries is a 4th-generation farmer/rancher in New Mexico’s Estancia Valley. His great-grandparents’ 1910 homestead is part of his dad’s Seven Up Seven Down Ranch. In 2021, John and his wife Debbie established Hearth, Wind & Sol Farm on 640 acres about 30 miles from ranch headquarters. They sell vegetables, eggs, and baked goods at the local farmers’ market, and John helps manage his dad’s ranch. In 2026, they became mentors for the New Agrarian Program. With training in water resources engineering, John’s early professional career was in international irrigation management. His subsequent twenty-five years of nonprofit management, community organizing and advocacy encompassed local, state, regional and national campaigns on a variety of social justice and environmental issues. From 2015 to 2020, he served on the Governor’s Council on Climate Change in Connecticut. With guidance from HMI, John has been experimenting with a variety of holistic grazing management practices. As a farmer, he loves watching the soil become richer each season while producing vegetables that are enjoyed by people who live in the community. One of his greatest joys is sitting down to a delicious, healthy meal that consists almost entirely of food that was grown or grazed within a few hundred yards of the table. John and Debbie are active in the Quaker community and have two grown children living in Massachusetts. They share the farm with their dog Magpie, two horses and barn cats.

Plenary Panel

Toward a Vision of Community Stewardship

With assistance from HMI, John has been documenting the impacts of new infrastructure (cross-fencing, water, a hay barn, and virtual fence collars) facilitating a series of holistic management experiments, including high density grazing with multiple moves per day, on the farm and ranch in NM. He has also guided the process of securing a conservation easement on 1000 acres of family farmland in TN. Ownership of these lands will be transferred to a family foundation, and John will describe his vision for building communities of farmers and ranchers sharing the long-term stewardship of these beautiful spaces.