Beginning at the end of the 19th century, a relatively unknown Austrian philosopher and teacher began to sow the seeds of what he hoped would blossom into a new culture. The seeds were his ideas, which he sowed through extensive writings, lectures and countless private consultations. The seeds germinated and took root in the hearts and minds of his students, among whom were individuals who would later become some of the best known and most influential figures of the 20th century. Since the teacher’s death in 1925, a quiet but steadily growing movement, unknown and unseen by most people, has been spreading over the world, bringing practical solutions to the problems of our global, technological civilization.
Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), founder of the biodynamic approach to agriculture, was a highly trained scientist and respected philosopher in his time, who later in his life came to prominence for his spiritual-scientific approach to knowledge called “anthroposophy.” Long before many of his contemporaries, Steiner came to the conclusion that western civilization would gradually bring destruction to itself and the earth if it did not begin to develop an objective understanding of the spiritual world and its interrelationship with the physical world. Steiner’s spiritual-scientific methods and insights have given birth to practical holistic innovations in many fields, including education, banking, medicine, psychology, the arts and, not least, agriculture.
In the early 1900s, a highly mechanistic view of nature was beginning to take hold in agriculture, which led to the development and use of synthetically produced fertilizers and pesticides. As they adopted these chemical inputs, farmers quickly began noticing declines in the health and fertility of their soil, plants, and animals. A number of farmers who were familiar with Steiner’s work to renew medicine, education, economics, and other aspects of society asked if he could provide some insights into how they could renew the health and vitality of their farms.
After many such requests, in June 1924, Steiner finally held an “Agriculture Course” with many of these farmers in Koberwitz, a small village which was then in Germany but is now Poland. The eight lectures and five discussions of that course have been transcribed in the book Agriculture and form the basis of the biodynamic method. Steiner was one of the first public figures to warn that the widespread use of chemical fertilizers would lead to the decline of soil, plant and animal health and the subsequent devitalization of food.
He was also the first to bring the perspective of the farm as a single, self-sustaining organism that thrives through biodiversity, the integration of crops and livestock and the creation of a closed-loop system of fertility. Steiner also brought forth a unique and comprehensive approach to soil, plant, animal and human health that recognizes the importance of the healthy interplay of cosmic and earthly influences. With this knowledge, he developed a set of homeopathic preparations used by biodynamic farmers on soil, compost and plants that help build up the farm’s innate immune system and vital forces. In the 1980s, biodynamic farmers in the northeast U.S. used Steiner’s economic ideas to pioneer the concept of community supported agriculture (CSA), which has since been adopted by thousands of farms across North America.
By applying these diverse ideas and methods, biodynamic farmers have established a worldwide reputation for creating socially responsible farms of extraordinary health and beauty and for producing organic products of the highest quality and flavor.
Source: https://www.biodynamics.com/steiner.html
Film
http://rudolfsteinerfilm.squarespace.com/
Videos
*************
Practitioners
Honoring Hugh Courtney
July 8, 1932 – June 15, 2020
Hugh Jordan Courtney passed the threshold quietly in his sleep on June 15, 2020, at the noble age of 87 in Woolwine, Virginia. Hugh was a man of great feelings and high standards. He entered the world on Friday, July 8, 1932, in Cook County, IL. Little did anyone know at the time how much land this one man’s work would heal.
Hugh lived many lives. In an early version of himself, he was Lieutenant in the Navy. An intermediary form of himself manifested as a librarian. But his true vocation blossomed as a champion of the Earth and its redemption. For decades he crafted special herbal remedies to stimulate the renewal of exhausted farmland for the renewal of our common home and the furtherance of our spiritual development. He inherited his mantle from Josephine Porter who herself had received her initiation from the harbinger of biodynamics to North America, Ehrenfried Pfeiffer – an immediate student of the visionary spiritual leader, Rudolf Steiner. The strand connecting Steiner to Courtney is short and direct.
Hugh was a seasoned astronomer and astrologer as well as a member of the Anthroposophical Society in America for over 40 years.
Hugh met Josephine Porter on Sunday, August 8, 1976, during the Biodynamic Association Conference at Threefold Farm, Spring Valley, NY. One decade later Hugh founded the Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, (JPI), extending the legacy of his mentor. Hugh Courtney conceived of the “sequential spray” technique in 1988 for increasing rainfall on a farm. He was the author of the best selling introduction to biodynamic agriculture What is Biodynamics? (SteinerBooks 10/4/05), which integrates biodynamic agriculture within the framework of Rudolf Steiner’s greater cosmology.
In 2009 Hugh founded Earth Legacy Agriculture with his grandson Jeremiah to encourage more large-scale agriculture applications of biodynamic preparations to heal ever more land. He continued to research effective pest remedies for further developing the indications given by Rudolf Steiner.
During his time, Hugh mentoring provided us many more preparation makers including Lloyd Nelson, Larry Mabe, Pat Fraizer, Matias Baker, Florence Rewinski, Laura Riccardi Lyvers, Jason Harris, Bob Lehman, and Stewart Lundy, just to name a few.
Hugh is survived by his wife Elisabeth and her children as well as his siblings: Don, Bill, & Lynn; his children: Mark, Elaine, Gwen & Blair; his grandchildren: Shannon, Jessica, Jeremiah, Joshua, Zachariah, Juliana, & Michael; and his great grandchildren: Zane, Tyler, Brielle, Liam, Ryder, Stella, Odin, Till, & Oaklyn.
His favorite saying was “God’s in charge.” And his work embodied this. Not only is there a plan, but he was actively participating in the divine plan and helping farmers and gardeners join in their sacred work as well.
Read more
***********
Associations
Membership is open to everyone interested in biodynamics, whether or not they are practicing farmers or gardeners. The present subscription rate is £35 per annum for up to 2 members of the same household in the United Kingdom; £20 per annum for students, unwaged, and senior citizens; £40 for members in Europe; and £45 for all other countries.
https://www.biodynamics.com/
The Biodynamic Association (BDA) awakens and enlivens co-creative relationships between humans and the earth, transforming the practice and culture of agriculture to renew the vitality of the earth, the integrity of our food, and the health and wholeness of our communities.
https://www.biodynamics.in/
The Biodynamic Association of India helps thousands of new people understand the basics of BD agriculture through its trainings. Our aim here is to promote health and vitality and deepen our collective connection to the cosmos through the practice of Biodynamics.
