Heifer USA is the U.S. program of global development organization Heifer International and an accredited Savory Global Network Hub with the Savory Institute, furthering the organization’s role in bringing science backed methods to improve regenerative, small-scale farms. The accreditation qualifies Heifer USA’s Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas to serve as a training, learning and demonstration site for the Savory Institute’s Holistic Management framework, cementing the organization’s overall commitment to ecosystem health and the fight against climate change.

Savory Hubs are locally owned, led and managed initiatives across the globe, offering Holistic Management consulting and training services, on-going support, accreditation, state-of-the-art content and tools, and access to the land, networks and funding resources necessary to create a local impact.

As one of 33 accredited Savory Hubs across the globe, Heifer USA is establishing itself as a best-in-class agriculture institution that is uniquely positioned to transform rural Arkansas and America’s heartland into thriving, self-sustaining communities. Heifer USA will be instrumental in scaling up regenerative agriculture to meet U.S. climate commitments, training farmers across the country in methods that will generate healthy farmland, while creating more economically viable farm businesses that connect farmers with new markets. By deploying the Savory Institute’s Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) monitoring protocol, Heifer USA is using Heifer Ranch as a training and testing site and supporting other farms to validate landscape and soil health improvement.

“Heifer's dedication to regenerative agriculture through Holistic Management and their excellence in the implementation of their educational and market programs will be invaluable to their community. Furthermore, it will serve as inspiration to the whole regenerative movement, demonstrating a robust and authentic grassroots model that meets the local needs while addressing the global food and climate crises.” -CEO and Co-Founder of Savory Institute, Daniela Ibarra-Howell.

Heifer USA aims to show that Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative, which they helped establish, is tracking regeneratively across all farms and to label some Grass Roots products with the Savory Institute’s Land to Market certification that indicates it was sourced from verified regenerating land. Four members of the Heifer Ranch team are now trained in EOV to do short and long-term monitoring of soil and landscape health on other farms. Kilpatrick is accredited in Holistic Management, equipping her to host other farmers at Heifer Ranch to learn holistic land management, holistic planned grazing and holistic financial planning. Heifer USA hosted its first group EOV training in the spring of 2022 and has already started EOV testing at other farms.