Sustainable Livestock, Sustainable Food: An Innovative Farmer’s Regenerative Journey

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The vast space between darkness and the break of dawn, when the sun finally peaks over the horizon and lifts the mist, is a time and space a dairy farmer like Samuel Diaz knows well. During these hours, he works closely with his sons and nephews to care for their cows, clean and prepare equipment and hygienically collect the milk.

The team moves quickly. After all, fresh milk at room temperature in a hot and humid country like Honduras will not keep.

While much has changed in dairy farming, much has stayed the same — and in these moments in the early hours of the day, farmers like Samuel are connected to the farmers who have come before them. Milk is fleeting, but farming is forever.  

The Joy of Farming with Family

In this remote frontier, on the outskirts of Catacamas in the Olancho department of Honduras, Samuel is known as a leader and a visionary who embraces his legacy. He inherited his profession and his land from his father and grandfather before him — yet, he has been able to adapt to a changing landscape and a changing climate by innovating and adopting modern practices.

Today, Samuel’s farm is more than just a means of livelihood; it is a testament to his belief in the power of the land and the potential of sustainable, regenerative agriculture, an approach to food production that seeks to improve the health of agricultural ecosystems through practices that regenerate soils, increase biodiversity, retain water and sequester carbon, while ensuring animal and human health.

Where others in his community have expanded their land and their farms with slash-and-burn practices, burning neighboring forests and exhausting the soil, Samuel has invested in doing more with his existing land because he sees the incredible potential of sustainable farming to create opportunity for his family and food security for his community.

Every day, he passes down these lessons to his sons and nephews as he works alongside them on the farm.

"For me, it is a joy to work as a family, I can tell you that it has not been achieved in many families, but here on this farm, we are doing a lot. It is achieved with perseverance, and we feel happy." - Samuel Diaz

After his work in the milking barn, Samuel and his family gather for a typical Honduran meal, or plato tipico. Today however, his wife Carolina has prepared a special meal for their guests: rice and chicharrónes, a dish made from pork belly fried in rendered pork fat, served with beans, plantains, homemade cheese, homemade tortilla and a creamy, buttery sauce called mantequilla.

As usual, the family makes plans, settles logistics and laughs together while enjoying the food and the break from work.

How to Find a Local Leader

Samuel’s perseverance and willingness to face challenges head-on have made him a successful leader of his family and his community. These qualities encouraged technicians in this community to seek him out as a model farmer to lead a Farmer Field school through Heifer Honduras’ Leveraging Success project.   

Two years ago, Samuel was approached by Marcial Gavarrete, a field technician who jointly represents the municipality of Catacamas and Heifer International. He was invited to join and host the Farmer Field School on his property, providing a place where local farmers could gather to learn productivity-enhancing methods and participate in trainings to advance their understanding and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.

Marcial had heard about an innovative farmer on the outskirts of Catacamas, in an area where many farmers are clearing national forests to expand their farms. From their first meeting, he knew Samuel would excel with additional inputs and training and that he would be a great model farmer.

“We search for leaders [like Samuel] — producers in the communities to be able to form groups where we can implement the livestock curriculum containing a broad scope of topics that include management, nutrition, animal health, bovine reproduction, milk quality and other lessons,” he said.

The Farmer Field School also offers training in regenerative and climate-smart agricultural practices. Samuel, who already had invested in solar panels for electricity a decade ago, saw the benefit of expanding his investment with a solar-powered electric fence to improve his ability to corral his herd as part of his adoption of rotational grazing. 

He had learned in the Farmer Field School that grazing his herd on smaller, more contained pastures could allow him to do more with the land he has available instead of deforesting the surrounding natural forest.

On some days, the air in this part of Honduras is so thick with smog from forest fires started by local farmers to clear the land for planting — pushing the boundary of agriculture, the “agricultural frontier,” farther into forested ecosystems — that it is difficult to breathe.

“[Our work is] to see how it is possible for producers to stop advancing with the agricultural frontier and continue taking care of the reserve areas,” Marcial explained.

Regenerative livestock farming and rotational grazing could improve productivity without expanding into new areas, thereby preventing deforestation and habitat and biodiversity loss.

Leveraging Success, which underpins this work, is supported by Heifer; it aims to close the living income gap for 136,880 Honduran families by 2030 by investing in dairy farmers and supporting small- and medium-sized dairy processing companies to create a sustainable and thriving dairy sector.

Despite the challenges of working in such remote areas of Honduras, the program has been successful in inspiring local leaders like Samuel to embrace and promote climate-smart and regenerative practices, as well as animal well-being protocols, that improve on-farm conditions and can lead to an increase in income and quality and a more resilient food system.

And while the farmers work together, so do the program partners, who are able to magnify their goals and their successes through collaboration.

Marcial explained that the partnership between Heifer and the municipal government has allowed for greater reach into remote and rural communities.

"The municipality does not have a section in charge of working in this area of livestock or agriculture. So, what better ally than to have a [partnership] that has a program to work in livestock to reach the most distant producers of the municipality." - Marcial Gavarrete

Overcoming Environmental and Social Challenges

Despite the progress farmers like Samuel and the members of his Farmer Field School group have made, the challenges facing the region are immense. Deforestation continues to deplete the land. Every year, large swaths of forest are burned to make way for crops, leading to soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and a cycle of environmental degradation that makes it increasingly difficult for farmers to sustain their livelihoods.

But there is hope. Through education and collaboration, farmers, together with their elected leaders, Heifer, local government and others, are helping break this cycle by promoting sustainable practices and encouraging conservation.

The next step will be expanding this work so more farmers and local producers are inspired to invest in their community and themselves.

"It is very satisfying to see the level of adoption that the sustainable livestock practices we promote in Honduras have achieved," said Carlos Tabora, Heifer Honduras livestock supervisor in Olancho. "Now, more than 4,200 farmers are following the example of demonstration farms and implementing environmentally friendly practices. In this way, we are realizing efficient production with a direct positive impact on household incomes."

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