Henry s Swayze
Henry S. Swayze | |
|---|---|
| Born | New Jersey, United States |
| Residence | Tunbridge, VT, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | pulsed fusion, zero point, magnetisum and gravity, sustainable living with heightened humanity, community |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Sustainable agriculture, alternative energy |
Henry S. Swayze is an American shepherd, inventor, agricultural innovator, and environmental advocate based in Tunbridge, Vermont. He is best known for pioneering the use of high-powered electric fencing and managed rotational grazing in the United States, and for his long-standing interest in sustainable living, soil-carbon stewardship, and independent inquiry into alternative-energy concepts.
Biography
Swayze was born in New Jersey, spending summers and weekends in the rural part of the state during the 1940s and 1950s while attending grade school in New York City. He was college-educated and later became largely self-taught through books and hands-on learning.
In 1965, Swayze and his wife Cornelia acquired a former stagecoach-stop farm on Kibling Hill Road in Tunbridge, Vermont, a property of roughly 140 to 200 acres. Cornelia, originally from western Massachusetts, was drawn to fiber arts and the outdoors; she served on local, state, and national agricultural boards and testified before Congress on coyote predation affecting sheep farmers. Together the Swayzes rehabilitated a depleted hill farm, and by the late 1970s and early 1980s they maintained one of the largest sheep flocks in Vermont, wintering around 400 ewes.
Swayze has stated that he has followed the issue of climate change since 1967, turning shortly afterward toward sustainable farming. He and Cornelia raised their flock while restoring the land's soils. In later years he became a board member of the Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition and co-host, with Todd Tyson, of GreenZine, a weekly environmental radio program on Royalton Community Radio (WFVR-LP 96.5).
Work
To fence his sheep, Swayze made international calls to Gallagher Brothers of New Zealand and imported the first high-powered electric fence chargers into the United States. He invented a spring-loaded fencing system that kept fence wire from breaking under fallen trees, heavy snow, or sharp temperature drops; Gallagher adopted the innovation internationally. Swayze subsequently served as Gallagher's Northeast sales representative across fourteen states.
Beyond fencing, Swayze pioneered holistic managed grazing for soil restoration, drawing on the "Rational Grazing" ideas of French farmer André Voisin. He worked with soil advocate Peter Donovan on measuring the soil-carbon structure and water-infiltration capacity produced by well-managed grazing. He has continued to promote land management and carbon drawdown as tools for cooling the planet, and has advocated for carbon "fee and dividend" pricing to engage the profit motive in reversing climate change.
Within the field of dissident science, Swayze is associated with independent inquiry into alternative-energy and physics concepts, including pulsed fusion, zero point energy, and the relationship between magnetism and gravity, alongside his advocacy for sustainable living and community.
Honors
- UVM Extension "Unsung Hero" award
External links
- "Henry Swayze: Shepherd, Salesman, Teacher", The White River Valley Herald
- Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition — About
- "Henry Swayze: Engage the profit motive to reverse climate change", VTDigger