What Is Biodynamic Farming?

Farming Practices
Written By Mariano Clement Gupana
What Is Biodynamic Farming?

If you read labels before placing a product in your shopping cart, then you are sure to have come across the word “biodynamic” on a recent grocery run. You probably have also seen this word featured on a slew of products, from tea and wines to cereals and pasta sauces (how long does pasta sauce last?). Well, if you’ve never stopped to google what is biodynamic farming, we’re here to break it down for you.

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  • Dive into the world of organic farming, understanding the principles and practices that define organic agriculture in the vibrant landscape of Texas.

What is Biodynamics?

Biodynamics is an agricultural management system that enables cultivators to develop a deeper relationship with their farms. It focuses on establishing a biologically harmonious environment through holistic, spiritual, and ecological practices, as laid out by its founder Rudolph Steiner in 1924.

What is Regenerative Agriculture

Ever since its inception, biodynamics has continued to evolve and is practiced in different ways around the world. At its core, there is a special emphasis on treating the farm as a regenerative living organism, respecting all elements of biodiversity, and harnessing the intangible energies that flow through all living organisms to produce food that is pure and nourishing.

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Principles of Biodynamics

Biodynamic farming is based on core anthroposophical principles that help develop an ethical approach to growing food. These principles highlight the importance of revitalizing soil health, boosting biodiversity, and fostering sustainability across social, ecological, economic, and astronomic dimensions.

  1. The biodynamic farming calendar is based on the positioning of the stars and the moon. While several cultures use the Farmer’s Almanac to plan harvests according to the lunar cycle, biodynamic farmers track constellations, planets, eclipses, comets, and other cosmic activities before undertaking any farm work. This stems from Steiner’s belief that soil and plantations react to every movement in the cosmos, and that “astronomy is simply weather in a larger dimension.”

  2. The farm is a self-sustaining, regenerative system that is minimally dependent on imported materials. Instead, it fulfills all its needs with what is available from the existing biodiversity on the farm itself. Waste from one section becomes a source of energy for another.

  3. Biodynamics promotes on-farm fertility by integrating animals, cover cropping, and crop rotation. The organic waste generated from animal manure and plant material is recycled and treated to be turned into compost. This eliminates the need for any chemical or external fertilizer. The farmer plans crop rotation and seed diversity so that chances of pest infestation or diseases are minimized, while soil health is enhanced.

  4. To be certified biodynamic by Demeter, a farmer needs to allow for 50% of its livestock feed to be grown on the farm. To establish a balanced predator-prey relationship, 10% of the total farm area needs to be set aside for biodiversity.

  5. Biodynamic preparations are what sets the practice apart from organic farming. These preparations are considered crucial for a well-balanced and flourishing farm. They bring crops in a balanced relationship with every environmental and cosmic influence, receive comprehensive nutrition, and develop resilience to damaging factors.

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    Biodynamic Preparations

Steiner, a philosopher by training, attempted to enrich organic life on earth through his anthroposophical ideology. In a series of lectures, he outlined nine preparations (similar to homeopathic remedies) that help “vitalize and harmonize soil processes through cosmic and terrestrial forces.”

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Preparations 500 and 501 are created by packing cow manure and silica into cow horns and burying them for a specified period of time. According to Steiner’s notes, cow horns double up as antennae for attracting cosmic forces that energize the buried material. The horns are later dug up and the contents are mixed with water to create a spray that is used over the crops. This preparation is believed to boost root and leaf growth.

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Similarly, other preparations include packing various plant or herb extracts along with ground minerals such as quartz into animal skulls, intestines, or organs. These mixtures, said to contain magnified healing qualities, are then aged underground at precise locations and for a precise duration, only to be used in diluted forms to “energize the microbial life” of the soil. While the scientific soundness of these preparations remains poor, practitioners of biodynamics are convinced of their potency.  

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The Problematic Past of Biodynamics

Steiner, in his times, was a much-respected philosopher, esotericist, and social reformer, whose ideas continue to have a far-reaching impact around the world. He is credited with the origination of anthroposophy, biodynamics, and Steiner education. However, some of his lectures reflect a racist perspective and have therefore cast a dark shadow on many of his contentious teachings. Biodynamic farming practitioners today rely on an evolved school of thought, distancing themselves from the founder’s racial biases and instead choosing to focus on the unifying powers of the farming model.

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Mariano Clement Gupana
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