AgEmerge Podcast 125 with Doniga Markegard
Doniga Markegard is a wildlife tracker, regenerative rancher, speaker, and author. Doniga discusses the methods her family uses to graze their animals, how they observe and interact with nature, to lead towards a more biodiverse and balanced ecosystem and they are seeing incredible results. Along with her husband and four children, Doniga owns and operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed raising grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and chicken supplying the Bay Area with local, nutrient dense foods. The family ranch leases land through out the Bay Area spanning over 11,000 acres.
Doniga Markegard is a wildlife tracker, regenerative rancher, speaker, and author of Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild and Wolf Girl: Finding Myself in the Wild. Her teen years in nature school started her on a path that led to a career in animal tracking and then permaculture and ranching in at her farm in California, Markegard Family Grass-Fed, where she works to regenerate both soil and community through farming. Using the innovative, carbon-storing methods of regenerative ranching, she’s restoring the land she tends, bringing native grasses and wildlife back.
Doniga is a consultant and guest instructor at Nature Awareness Programs around the country, has led retreats in places such as 1440 Multiversity, Canyon Ranch and is a regular speaker at events such as the Bioneers Conference, Food Inspiration Trendsummit, and The Grassfed Exchange. She is a certified educator with Holistic Management International. She has worked with companies such as Patagonia, Tesla and Google, and has been featured in articles from Civil Eats, FastCompany, GreenBiz, The San Francisco Examiner, and NPR. Most recently she has been featured in the film Kiss the Ground available on Netflix.
Along with her husband and four children, Doniga owns and operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed LLC raising grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and chicken supplying the Bay Area with local, nutrient dense foods. The family ranch leases land through out the Bay Area spanning over 11,000 acres.
Watch full episode here: https://youtu.be/lnR7F3HEjWk
Doniga’s work expands beyond her family ranch into policy and advocacy. She has organized a stakeholder working group at the State Capital for small dairy herds. She then took the lead on legislation that would enable family farms to be more sustainable and utilize pasture in an economical and productive way.
Doniga’s deep observation experience aids in her ability to monitor grassland health, biodiversity and to manage land based on the principles and patterns found in nature. Doniga is passionate about large-scale restoration of Western Rangelands through cattle grazing. The Markegard Family has forged partnerships with some of the largest land trust groups in California, private landowners, as well as regional open space parks. Each ranch has a grazing plan and conservation management plan developed in conjunction with landowners and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. She is dedicated to finding ways to regenerate lands and community through ranching practices that build soil, sequester carbon, capture and purify water and enhance habitat.
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