Biodynamic Agriculture

Background

The principles of biodynamic agriculture were laid out in 1924 through a series of eight lectures given by Austrian scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1862–1925) at Schloss Koberwitz in then Silesia, Germany (now Poland). Steiner delivered the lectures at the request of farmers concerned about soil degradation and declining crop and livestock health resulting from industrial farming techniques. Called the “agricultural course,” the eight lectures were then published as the book Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture, and they form the intellectual basis of the biodynamic agriculture movement.

Steiner proposed the biodynamic method, in which each agricultural practice or measure related to life in its totality. Steiner, who was at the time renowned for his work on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's scientific writings, had also developed innovative and holistic approaches that would lead to transformations in philosophy (anthroposophy), medicine (anthroposophical medicine), education (the Waldorf schools), special education (the Camphill movement), the arts (eurythmy), and more.

[Page 50]Steiner drew on his experiences researching the forces that regulate life and growth to propose a spiritually integrated approach to agriculture that nurtures the relationship between the ecology of the “Earth-organism” and the cosmos. Toward this end, Steiner proposed such “common-sense practices” as structuring activities to be in rhythm with nature; becoming self-sufficient in terms of energy, fertilizers, and the reproduction of plants and animals; building farm health by cultivating diverse plant and animal species; and maintaining oneself in concert with the farm by being reliable, orderly, and attuned to one's own—and the farm's—needs. Steiner and subsequent practitioners of biodynamic agriculture recognize that any farm is open to elements from beyond the farm's boundary, but the notion of farm-as-organism means that a healthy farm should be self-nourishing by reducing losses of organic matter and nutrients. Although Steiner noted that every farm should operate as self-sufficiently as possible, he acknowledged that such an ideal can rarely be completely attained. Accordingly, Steiner noted that materials brought in from outside the farm—for example, nonsynthetic fertilizers and compost preparations—should be considered as medicine for an ailing farm.

Steiner's lectures conveyed complex, dynamic relationships between farmers and farms, and he also provided practical measures to support these relationships. In the 1930s, Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, who had worked with Steiner, brought biodynamic agricultural concepts to the United States, leading to the founding of the U.S.-based Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association in 1938 (http://www.biodynamics.com).

Method

Soil life is key to biodynamic agriculture and can be improved through proper humus management, crop rotation, intercropping, and other protective measures. Biodynamic principles suggest that farm manure and compost are the most valuable fertilizers, and soil health depends on applying sufficient organic manure and compost that have fermented according to prescribed processes. On the basis of his understanding of the material and spiritual worlds, Steiner outlined specific soil preparations, crop treatments, and other methods to enable “biologically dynamic”—or biodynamic—agriculture. These include fermented herbal and mineral preparations as compost additives and field sprays, methods for controlling weeds and pests, and an astronomical calendar to guide the timing of farming activities.

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