About Us
Who we are
We’re a family raised in the city with a great love for nature. Motivated from the beginning by the idea of undertaking innovative farming practices on our own land, we searched for years for an opportunity, a place where much could be done. So, we arrived at "La Zoila", where we started from scratch. La Zoila became our clean slate, without any previous conditionings or preconceptions.
Purpose
We pursue innovative solutions to old and new challenges. We want to be agents of positive change.
We seek to play an active role in finding a new approach to food production by focusing on our relationship with Nature. We learn from it, we must know how to interpret and respect it.
There are incredible opportunities disguised as insoluble problems.
Our approach
RMG (RATIONAL MULTI-SPECIES GRAZING)
It is quite common to hear criticism of monoculture agriculture. As far as grazing is concerned, the equivalent would be mono pastoralism.
Throughout the last century, the gradual migration to cities, as well as the current trend towards increasingly larger productive units, has resulted in giving exclusive prominence to cattle, to the detriment of the plurality of herbivores.
Since different animals have particular consumption habits, mono pastoralism implies that many forage resources are not being properly used. Furthermore, permanent selection made by cattle tends to the expansion of certain plant species to the detriment of others. Thus, a natural balance is broken.
At "La Zoila" we have a Native Forest where in experimental plots we’re able to appreciate the positive impact that sheep and, particularly, goats, have on the control of shrubby weeds and vines, as well as in the pruning of tree tops. This allows greater penetration of light and less competition for nutrients and water among plants and natural grasses.
At the same time, this browsing favours the circulation of nutrients and humidity, since trees, due to their deep root systems, reach strata impossible for other plant species.
The challenge is to achieve gradual rotation of multispecies plants in all our plots, be that forest or pasture, achieving beneficial diversity. In this way, we will paradoxically ensure more pasture for our cattle.
This diversification of environments and species enhances the stability and resilience of the system, which is and will be particularly important in dealing with changing weather patterns.
World population growth, as well as changes in consumption patterns of some countries (eg China), has lead to a sustained growth in demand for animal protein. In years to come, it will be necessary to produce more, but with fewer resources, in an increasingly unpredictable climate.
The answer is a sustainable intensification of production systems. Rational Multispecies Grazing tries to be a contribution in this regard.