Biodynamic agriculture

What is biodynamic agriculture?

Biodynamic agriculture is the oldest branch of organic farming. It goes back to Rudolf Steiner, who set out its foundations in 1924 in the Agriculture Course, decades before organic-biological farming and the EU organic regulation. In German, "biodynamisch" and "biologisch-dynamisch" mean the same thing; in English, "biodynamic" is the established term.

Rather than being a mere set of rules about what to avoid (no chemicals, no genetic engineering), biodynamics is a holistic concept: the farm is understood as a living organism that sustains itself as far as possible. Soil, plants, animals and people form an interplay that is cared for through closed cycles, the farm's own manure and the biodynamic preparations. Biodynamic farming is certified mainly through the Demeter association.

The basic ideas at a glance

The biodynamic idea can be condensed into a few core principles:

• The farm as an organism. The farm is understood as a living, self-contained whole made up of interdependent members, the guiding image of the farm organism.
• Plants and animals together. Animals, above all ruminants, complement crop growing and provide the manure that closes the cycle.
• Living fertility. The aim is a living soil whose fertility is renewed from within, through compost, crop rotation and circular management.
• The preparations. The biodynamic preparations (500 to 508) enliven soil, compost and plants.
• Working with rhythms. Where possible, sowing, care and harvest are timed to favourable moments in the course of sun, moon and year.
• Gentle plant protection. Pests and diseases are met preventively and by strengthening, not by aggressive intervention.
• Spiritual basis. The method rests on a spiritual-scientific understanding of nature (anthroposophy).

The three pillars of the method

Three elements concretely distinguish biodynamic farming from other forms of cultivation. First, the farm organism: the largely closed farm cycle with its own basis of feed and manure and with animals as a central member. Second, the preparations, which guide the processes in soil and compost. Third, attention to cosmic and seasonal rhythms, as expressed for example in the planting calendar.

No synthetic inputs

Like all organic farming, biodynamic agriculture does without chemical-synthetic pesticides, artificial mineral fertilisers and genetic engineering. It fertilises with farmyard manure, slurry and compost, as far as possible from the farm itself. The preparations do not replace this manuring but enliven it (Steiner spoke of an "extra manuring").

Origin and context

The impetus came from a series of lectures that Rudolf Steiner gave at Whitsun 1924 at Koberwitz in Silesia to around a hundred farmers. This "Agriculture Course" (GA 327) is regarded as the founding text and is still the original source of all biodynamic literature. The occasion was farmers' concern about declining soil fertility and seed quality at a time when artificial fertilisers were coming into use. The Demeter association grew out of the movement and still certifies the method today.

What distinguishes biodynamic from organic?

"Organic" refers to organic farming under the EU regulation, the legal minimum standard. "Biodynamic" goes further: in addition, the farm organism, compulsory work with the preparations, livestock as part of the farm, a ban on hybrid cereals and stricter limits. The Demeter standard sits on top of the organic regulation; it does not replace it (see organic associations compared).

In context

Biodynamic agriculture has anthroposophical roots, and parts of its reasoning, such as the reference to cosmic forces, come from Steiner's spiritual-scientific world view. These concepts can be tested scientifically only to a limited extent and are controversial. For the farming system as a whole, however, there is robust data: the DOK long-term trial of FiBL (since 1978) found the highest soil fertility in the biodynamic system, with higher humus content and increased activity of soil organisms. The movement's contribution to the development of organic farming as a whole is undisputed; its idea of the cycle largely matches modern concepts of regenerative agriculture (more under biodynamics and science).