Biodynamic farming challenges scientists and farmers.
Studies indicate that it has merit in terms of soil quality, ecological impact and economics relative to comparable conventional systems, yet biodynamic systems are misunderstood by some traditional scientists.
Biodynamic farming began with a series of lectures by Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s. His teachings included philosophical and practical elements, neither of which has become mainstream.
Nonetheless, there are biodynamic farmers and farm associations around the world.
Biodynamic combines the words biological and dynamic.
The biological component includes many of the principles of organic agriculture including focus on soil, biodiversity and rotations for fertility and to keep pests in balance.
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Steiner’s “spiritual science” adds the dynamic component and considers the role of ethereal and cosmic forces on the individuality of the farm.
Steiner understood the farm as a living entity and the farmer through his or her toil, intent and conscious feeling, as a motivating, even healing part of that being.
Some of Steiner’s teachings resonate with accepted scientific concepts, such as the agroecosystem, while others, particularly those involving planetary alignment and cosmic beings, are from a different way of understanding.
In practice, biodynamics differs from most organic farming in the use of nine preparations applied to the soil, the plants or to manure composts.
Typically, biodynamic farms include cattle and many are dairy and vegetable operations.
Manure is an important aspect of fertility.
The first two biodynamic preparations are aged in a cow’s horn – manure fermented in the horn over winter, and applied to the soil in spring, or silica packed in the horn over summer and applied to the crop.
A further six preparations are made from stinging nettle, oak bark and yarrow, chamomile, dandelion or valerian flowers.
These are applied to the compost pile.
A preparation of horsetail is applied to plants for disease control. Biodynamic preparations are made in a precise way, diluted to extremely low concentrations, and energized with particular forms of stirring.
Recipes, products and directions for their use are available.
Steiner’s teachings also include an entire philosophical framework called anthroposophy.
These holistic teachings are linked to alternative medical treatments such as homeopathy and eurhythmy and to alternative education as embodied in the Waldorf schools.
They call for an inner transformation that is hard for people outside the transformation to fully understand.
Anthroposophy is a different way of understanding than the science we value so highly in our society.
Science values physical, material explanations, while anthroposophy considers that materialism gets in the way of spirituality.
Some biodynamic practitioners are well versed in anthroposophy, and consider it an essential attitude for healing the earth and regenerating the farm’s health.
Some are less convinced by the philosophy, but follow the techniques just the same.
In New Zealand, researchers studied biodynamic and comparable conventional farms.
They found that biodynamic farms proved in most cases to have soils of higher biological and physical quality, significantly greater organic matter content and microbial activity, more earthworms, better soil structure, lower bulk density, easier penetrability, and thickertopsoil. The biodynamic farmswere just as often financially viable as their neighbouring conventional farms.
In Switzerland, researchers compared biodynamic and organic systems to two types of conventional systems.
They also found greater soil fertility and biodiversity on the biodynamic and organic plots than on conventional plots. The biodynamic system had greater microbial biomass, diversity and activity, than the organic system, which had greater microbial values than the conventional system.
The authors suggested that this microbial activity would improve phosphorus uptake, nitrogen use and plant productivity.
These studies suggest that biodynamic systems can benefit the soil. Whether biodynamic preparations provide essential nutrients that foster the growth of beneficial microbes or whether they help the spirituality of the farm connect with cosmic forces, the techniques appear to warrant further study.
The Organic Connections conference in Saskatoon Nov 14-16 will include a workshop on biodynamic farming where these ideas will be discussed further.
Frick is the Prairie co-ordinator for the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada located at the University of Saskatchewan. Frick can be reached at 306-966-4975, at brenda.frick@usask.ca, or www.organicagcentre.ca.The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Western Producer.
