Jen Ringbauer has a background in Permaculture and Holistic Management. She runs a small farm of 25 acres with a self-replacing herd of Dexter cattle, orchards, kitchen garden and a market garden. She began her training with HMI Certified Educator Brian Wehlburg through the 18-month Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Holistic Management Program in 2017. In 2021 she became a Savory Institute Educator as well as running a small market garden farm. She was excited to hear about HMI’s Online Holistic Cropping Planning Course in 2022 and decided to take it.
“I was sick of online learning at that time because I was a full-time student, but I really wanted to take the course,” says Jen. “It was very helpful because it provided ways to integrate the cropping plan into other areas of production planning and finances. To see the offerings of the cropping planning charts for this course and to learn what needs to go into those charts was really helpful. The co-facilitation of the instructors (HMI Certified Educators Elizabeth Marks and Preston Sullivan) was nicely done.
“The way Preston really layered the ecosystem processes with the management ideals was also really good. It provided people with a ‘Gabe Brown kind of understanding’ of how the ecosystem works.
“I would absolutely recommend this course. What is taught can be applied at any level. I didn’t understand broader cropping at that point, the nuances and difficulties, but I could see that this process was scalable.
“As students I think we were really well supported. There was a definitely pressure to get the assignments done which was really good. The instructors encouraged us to keep on top of our assignments. But the amount of work was appropriate and we had enough time to do the activities. The pace was excellent, and I felt like I could fit the course in with my other commitments. There were just enough materials to keep you engaged and keep you moving. All the instructors and staff were available, and there were so many genuine offers to reach out and get help.”