Bio-Dynamic Agriculture . . . by Maireid Sullivan
2011- Updated 2018
Work in progress
"Leaves are the sole organs on Earth able to create new material substance; in contrast, everything else on Earth is a recycling of materials."– Australian Bio-Dynamic pioneer Alex Podolinsky 2007
Our emotions influence the environment:
"A person cannot utter one single word, cannot have a thought, without their feelings influencing the environment. In the same manner that our actions cause an effect in space, so do our emotions; they travel through space and influence people and the entire astral world." - Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925):
- Autobiography: (1928) The Story of My Life - Wikipedia
In 1924, Austrian scientist and philosopher Dr Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) originated
the Bio-Dynamic (BD) farming method in collaboration with German soil scientist Ehrenfried Pfeiffer (1899-1961), whom Rudolf Steiner selected to be ambassador of biodynamics to the USA.
The Demeter Standard was registered in 1928.
Bio-Dynamic agriculture became the first ecological farming system to arise in response to commercial fertilizers and 'synthetic biology', and was based on a 'visionary' approach that, today, can't be 'annulled' by science: For example, the concept of 'chaos and order' in 'vortex stirring' BD 500/501 preparations is well illustrated by Bio-Dynamic Solutions.
- BioDynamic FAQ
All crops need soil that will maintain and sustain the humus content, microbiological life and earthworm activity...
- Biodynamic Gardening by the Cosmos ... For example if you garden using biodynamics, preparation BD500 (horn manure) is put out in a descending phase, when the moon is waning. It’s applied as a soil spray in autumn and spring, as the day draws to a close. BD501 (horn silica) is a ‘light’ spray, applied first thing in the morning, in spring or summer. Preferably the moon will be ascending and waxing...
#1 Challenge:
Monsanto
Wikipedia excerpt: An American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in the 1970s. Later, the company became a major producer of genetically engineered crops. In 2018, the company ranked 199th on the Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue.[2] Monsanto was one of four groups to introduce genes into plants in 1983,[3] and was among the first to conduct field trials of genetically modified crops in 1987.
... In September 2016, Monsanto agreed to be acquired by Bayer for US$66 billion.
Monsanto India Ltd. was founded in 1949
Applying the Bio-Dynamic method, Organic India, founded in 1997, has been restoring India's monsanto-destroyed farms. Which means ... the same can be done everywhere!
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)
15 AUG, 2012 'Bitter Seeds' documentary reveals tragic toll of GMOs in India
We sometimes lose sight of the fact that Big Ag's influence extends far beyond our own borders. Micha Peled's documentary Bitter Seeds is a stark reminder of that fact.
Bitter Seeds exposes the havoc Monsanto has wreaked on rural farming communities in India, and serves as a fierce rebuttal to the claim that genetically modified seeds can save the developing world.
~~~
The documentary, Bitter Seeds (2011) won 18 international film awards, including the Green Screen Award (2011) and the Oxfam Global Justice Award (2011).
Bitter Seeds (2011) IMDB Synopsis
India has more farmers than any country in the world, and they are in a crisis that is unprecedented in human history. Every 30 minutes a farmer in India kills himself in despair. In a village at the center of the suicide epidemic, a farmer and his family struggle to keep his land and a teenage girl makes her first steps to become a journalist and tell the world about the crisis. Bitter Seeds raises questions about the human cost of genetically-modified agriculture and the future of how we grow things. ...
Excerpt:
The US agriculture giant Monsanto and the German chemical giant BASF were aware for years that their plan to introduce a new agricultural seed and chemical system would probably lead to damage on many US farms, internal documents seen by the Guardian show.
. . .
Several million acres of crops have now been reported damaged by dicamba, according to industry estimates. And more than 100 US farmers are engaged in litigation in federal court alleging Monsanto and BASF collaboration created a “defective” crop system that has damaged orchards, gardens and organic and non-organic farm fields in multiple states.
. . .
Several million acres of crops have now been reported damaged by dicamba, according to industry estimates. And more than 100 US farmers are engaged in litigation in federal court alleging Monsanto and BASF collaboration created a “defective” crop system that has damaged orchards, gardens and organic and non-organic farm fields in multiple states.
The Biodynamic Movement in Britain, 2024
A History of the First 100 Years by Bernard Jarman (1:16:17) April 2, 2024
- Biodynamic Association UK, April 1, 2023 So what happens when you put cow manure into a cow horn and bury it for six months over a winter period? Magic! It makes a biodynamic prep often referred to as Horn Manure preparation.
After the six months, the manure will have composted which can then be scraped out and stirred into water creating a super oxygenated liquid soil activator that is sprayed onto the soil adding rich biological nutrients. Research has shown this process to be an exceptionally fertile breeding ground for helpful soil bacteria and fungi.
It's a great way to give the health of your soil a boost and ultimately, stimulate plant growth whilst improving the overall health of the ecosystem. No poisons, all good stuff!
-More
Films and Videos HERE
Denmark, 2014 A portrait of Niels Stokholm, an 80-year-old Danish Bio-Dynamic farmer who runs his farm in accordance with spiritual laws.
Historical Background
Philosophy in Germany during the second half of the nineteenth century was broadly identified with the theory of knowledge (Erkenntnistheorie). Natural science had overwhelmed all resistance, and since science was now the repository of all firm knowledge, the study of the sciences seemed to many the only task left, whether this was carried out in the guise of scientific epistemology or experimental psychology. But if science were the mode of knowing, then epistemology could only be a justification of the natural sciences, and would implicitly maintain their naturalistic viewpoint — that is, it would assume that all objects of knowledge are to be known according to the manner in which external nature is known, and would take the science of the day to be methodologically correct. Thus, prior to all investigation, this epistemology will rest on assumptions that prefigure the nature of the object of knowledge, and for that matter, the nature of the knowing subject. The dogmatism of such a position could only be recommended by someone already convinced of its authenticity...
- Save Our Soil Australia (SOS) 2018 Bio-Dynamic vs Organic Food, July 23, 2018 By Mark Rathbone, whose biodynamic vegetable farm produces 40 crops harvested throughout the year.
- What exactly is Bio-dynamics?
Bio-dynamics was created by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian scientist, in the early 1900’s and focuses on building soil humus levels to feed the plants and not using some sort of un-natural water-soluble fertilizer. Similar to nature, bio-dynamics relies solely on humus to grow plants. The farmers are trained to know how soil biology works and use certain techniques to maintain and increase humus levels. - The goals of the bio-dynamic farmer include;
• To grow the most nutritious plants possible and to build health for the end user.
• To use a closed farm system that has very little, if anything, brought onto the property to treat the soil or plant.
• To increase the humus bank in the soil, so there is enough for future crops. If there is a deficiency of elements or unusual climatic conditions then some substances may be needed to remedy a situation. In this case, permission must be received by the farmer from the certifying body, before proceeding. - How does bio-dynamics work? - What is humus? >>>more
Excerpt:
With help from the pioneering Australian farmers,
he [Alex Podolinsky] took the original impulse of Rudolf Steiner and developed a practical Biodynamic method…
During the late 1950s and early 1960s he founded the Bio Dynamic Agricultural Association of Australia, The Bio Dynamic Research Institute and registered the Demeter Trademark: Demeter Research Institute- Bio-Dynamic and Organic certification
Wikipedia overview of world wide Bio-Dynamic practice includes a brief history of Australian Bio-Dynamic development, chiefly referencing John Paull, BBSc, MEnvt, PhD, environmental scientist at the University of Tasmania's School of Land and Food, and distinguished expert on the history of biodynamic and organic agriculture.
Excerpt: In Australia, the first biodynamic farmer was Ernesto Genoni[24] who in 1928 joined the Experimental Circle of Anthroposophical Farmers and Gardeners, followed soon after by his brother Emilio Genoni.[25] Ernesto Genoni's first biodynamic farm was at Dalmore, in Gippsland, Victoria, in 1933.[26] The following year, Ileen Macpherson and Ernesto Genoni founded Demeter Biological Farm at Dandenong, Victoria, in 1934 and it was farmed using biodynamic principles for over two decades.[27]
Bob Williams presented the first public lecture in Australia on biodynamic agriculture on 26 June 1938 at the home of the architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin at Castlecrag, Sydney.[28] Since the 1950s research work has continued at the Biodynamic Research Institute (BDRI)[29] in Powelltown, near Melbourne under the direction of Alex Podolinsky,[30] In 1989 Biodynamic Agriculture Australia was established, as a not for profit association. >>>more
Alex Podolinsky (13.07.1925 - 30.06.2019)
Australian Bio-Dynamic agriculture pioneer "My aim is to make our farmers observe what is happening on their farm and think biologically.
I see our farmers as creative composers."
– Alex Podolinsky, 2008
“. . . I count myself very lucky to have been able to hear Alex Podolinsky lecture and then to see his teachings so effectively applied at Agrilatina. That soil transformation was a miracle! I have never seen anything like it!..." – Linda Bullard (former President) of IFOAM - Organics International.>>>more
We can come to a point where we must question: “What is truth?” Within a man-made system of mathematics or philosophy, or very much, the “model” of conventional agricultural science, truth can acquire an absoluteness and a kind of finality. Not so, when dealing with the (outside of man) real world of Nature and Creation. …
Conclusion: This has been contributed from o p e n human observation of Nature brought to consciousness. It makes no “scientific” claim. I feel sorry for those who try to “prove” their theory in a “scientifically” acceptable way, able to be “published” in a recognised journal; a time and money consuming effort which ends up in archives, often never to really contribute. In such, little productive purpose can be found. – Alex Podolinsky, Bio-Dynamic Agricultural Association of Australia AGM 2007 - Third Session Address
Excerpt: "Australia’s 20 Million (on an area the size of Europe or the US mainland) contra to Kyoto agreement of 8% eventual pollution reduction –pollute to 30%. And scant notice is taken by Government Authorities – even to warnings of the CSIRO. There is hardly a university professor, or a senior 'public servant', or almost anybody who 'dares' say anything until, perhaps, after retirement. A system of funding by Government is in place, which “directs” virtually all 'individual' efforts and enslaves initiative. . . The way Australia is proceeding, it will, in 20 to 40 years, not be able to feed the present number of citizens. Certainly not healthily. (pp.3-4) . . .
The 57% Asians of the world population exist just outside our door.
We all live on one Earth. And we few inhabitants of the Australian continent (remember Graham Stephens report in the recent Newsletter on the Nitrate presence in NSW underground water - a danger to health), how have we affected and poisoned soils, crops and environment.
Forty years ago the Nitrate problem in underground water in the USA
was well recorded. We now have it here. Without doubt most of the NPK problems are induced by “fertiliser” run off ex biologically defunct soils without humus, unable to “hold” and utilize this NPK slowly. Blue-green algae is one result. Of all the people I know in various parts of Earth, there are very few with access to pure water deriving from springs, rivers or underground sources. In some highly populated countries, drinking water is unavailable for hours per day.
There are many people with sparsest access to water at all.
Australia will never be able to continue a policy of “US” . . . There are rattles round the globe. Isolationist or ego-centric policies will eventually fail. This has to be seriously considered. We know the situation – even in Australia – with water, with salt, with pesticides, weedicides. . . . And scant notice is taken by Government Authorities – even to warnings of the CSIRO >>> more
Abstract
Arguably one of Western esotericism’s most ambitious and widely influential thinkers, Rudolf Steiner (1861– 1925) has left an astonishing legacy of cultural products that continue to have influence beyond the institutional reach of Anthroposophy, the new religious movement he founded. One such legacy is his system of agriculture, known today as Biodynamic Agriculture, or Biodynamics. This method, combining a distrust of modern agro-chemical applications and a desire to spiritually as well as physically nourish the individual, is now disseminated in a range of industries, and is often applied in ways that have little to do with Anthroposophy or Steiner. The current fascination in the viticulture industry for Biodynamic methods serves as a useful example for exploring what Steiner believed and set out for farmers, as well as for highlighting how these techniques are used today. Lorand’s (1996) paradigm for understanding Biodynamic Agriculture is here used to frame a discussion utilising a production of culture perspective that looks at elements of culture as shaped by the system within which they created, promoted, taught, and appraised (Peterson 1976). In order to understand how and why an esoteric agricultural method is flourishing in the twenty-first century, its origins must first be examined.
The Scientific Basis of Bio-Dynamics By John Bradshaw, December 2009, Biodynamic Growing Magazine It matters not the source of the inspiration, the wild leap of imagination that may lead to new theories. No rational scientist would say:“I don’t know where that promising idea came from, I’d better not investigate it.”
FAQ:
As we are in the business of ‘energising’ rather than ‘fertilising’
... The Essence of Biodynamic Agriculture
The reason biodynamics works so well is that every aspect of the method, based on scientific understanding, meticulous experiments and extensive field trials, is focused on building and protecting essential soil life, the collective function of which in Nature is to convert organic matter and any free soluble elements into stable humus. This feeds plants as Nature intended, sun driven, not indiscriminately through the soil water charged with soluble fertilizers. The biodynamic preparations are powerful stimulators of biological activity in the soil, and when combined with associated biological agricultural practices, enable farmers and gardeners to produce food of the highest quality with minimal inputs....
Their critics call the practice "occult", labelling them followers of a quasi-religious movement. To their fans, they are the best food and wine producers in the country. The movement is gaining popularity with farmers, market gardeners and winemakers converting to biodynamics mainly because they eschew chemical fertilisers, hormones and pesticides.
Alex Podolinsky, the man considered by many to be the father of biodynamics in Australia, walks us through his shed at his property in a valley near Powelltown. Sacks filled with cow horns are stacked to the rafters. Previously the sacks were filled with fresh cow manure, buried in the earth over winter. Podolinsky reaches into a covered bin and pulls out a handful of "preparation 500". This used to be cow manure but has been transformed into a smooth, moist, dough-like substance that smells neutral. In it are billions of microbes and particles of trace elements that are to be stirred in water and sprayed over a farm, garden or vineyard. An erudite, effusive and energetic man in his 80s, Podolinsky spells out the differences between organics and biodynamics. While organic certification requires the exclusion of chemicals, biodynamics is about the creative input - treating humus to hold soil nutrients, he says. . .
At a Glance
Conventional: Artificial fertilisers and petrochemicals are applied to soil. Pests are controlled with chemical sprays while flowering and fruiting can be manipulated with chemical hormones.
Organic: Natural manures, composts, crushed rock and other natural compounds lift soil fertility while pests are controlled with natural compounds. No chemical, hormones or GM products.
Biodynamic: An extension of organic farming with a more holistic approach emphasising the interrelationship of soil, plants and animals.
1.
Biodynamic Faming & Compost Preparation
By Steve Diver - Agriculture Specialist
Feb. 1999, Demeter-usa.org (pdf)
Excerpt:
In a nutshell, biodynamics can be understood as a combination of "biological dynamic" agriculture practices. "Biological" practices include a series of well-known organic farming techniques that improve soil health. "Dynamic" practices are intended to influence biological as well as metaphysical aspects of the farm (such as increasing vital life force), or to adapt the farm to natural rhythms (such as planting seeds during certain lunar phases).
The concept of dynamic practice - those practices associated with non-physical forces in nature like vitality, life force, ki, subtle energy and related concepts - is a commonality that also underlies many systems of alternative and complementary medicine. It is this latter aspect of biodynamics which gives rise to the characterization of biodynamics as a spiritual or mystical approach to alternative agriculture. >>> more
2.
Perfect Compost:
A masterclass with Peter Proctor - Green Planet Films:
(DVD & eBook) Peter Proctor is New Zealand's father of biodynamic agriculture. Compost is the fundamental element in all gardening & farming. This master class takes you through the compost making process from gathering and assembling your materials to creating the perfect compost heap.
Review:
SCIENCE in SOCIETY Archive Saving the World with Biodynamic Farming "The importance of marginal farmers in India using an emergent agricultural knowledge system against the corporate takeover of farms."
By Sam Burcher
January 2008 One farmer, one cow, one planet
What if the world were an apple? One quarter of the apple is land and the rest is water. Cut the land in half and put aside that which is deserts and mountains. Quarter what is left and the peel of one of those quarters represents the topsoil that must feed the whole world. This analogy illustrates how important it is to get the best out of the available soil to provide abundant and nutritious food for everyone on the planet [1].
Peter Proctor is a soil scientist who has worked with the stuff for over sixty years [2]. His favourite invertebrate is the earthworm, which he describes as “the unpaid servant of soil health” and his favourite animal is the cow because of all the dung it provides. Dung is something that Proctor prizes more highly than gold, jewels, fossil fuels, or many other natural resources. His recommendation for green-fingered gardeners and for the long term sustainability and security of global agricultural systems is the same: a complex preparation of medicinal plant material (see Box) added to compost, manure and slurry. The mineral enriched compost preparations lessen soil compaction, enhance the quality of topsoil, increase microbial activity and encourage earthworms. >>> more
