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Biodynamic Agriculture

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Biodynamic Agriculture Biodynamic Agriculture Economic Botany Dr. Uma Garimella University of Central Arkansas April 19, 2007 Sustainable Agriculture • Movement that emerged in the 1970’s • Serves to address the Environmental and Social concerns brought on by modern, industrial agriculture • Three Main Goals: – Environmental Stewardship – Farm Profitability – Prosperous Farming Communities Sustainable Agriculture Can be divided into three branches: 1. Organic 2. Biodynamic 3. Indore Process Organic • An ecological production management system that promotes and enhances: – Biodiversity – Biological cycles – Soil biological activity • Based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that - restore, maintain & enhance ecological harmony. Organic Agriculture production without the use of synthetic chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, and antibiotics. Biodynamic • Incorporates the beneficial use of the cosmic energies into the cultivation of plants. • Systematic inputs of mineral, plant and animal nutrient to the field. • Cultivation practices are carried out according to the biodynamic calendar. One of the biodynamic farming practices is to bury cow horns filled with organic cow manure. After being underground for about five months, the compost is removed and made into a tea, which is spread around vineyards and farms. Indore Process • Manufacture of humus from vegetable & animal waste • Developed at the Institute of Plant Industry in Indore, India & brought to “us” by Sir Albert Howard • Determined the maintenance of soil fertility is the real basis of health and of resistance to disease. Various parasites were found to be only secondary matters: their activities resulted from the breakdown of a complex biological system -- the soil in its relation to the plant and to the animal -- due to improper methods of agriculture, an impoverished soil, or to a combination of both. Indore Process • Two basic principles: – 1. The admixture of vegetable and animal wastes with a base for neutralizing acidity – 2. The management of the mass so that the micro-organisms which do the work can function in the most effective manner Indore Composting Process Anthroposophy • A philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, father of Biodynamic Farming, in 1913 • Teaches the methods/disciplines of achieving spiritual, sense–free knowing • Path of self knowledge • It is essentially a discipline by which to see into the spiritual world. Basic Principles • Broaden Our Perspective • Reading the Book of Nature • Cosmic Rhythms • Plant Life is Intimately Bound Up with the Life of the Soil • A New View of Nutrition • Medicine for the Earth: Biodynamic Preparations • The Farm as the Basic Unit of Agriculture • Economic Based on Knowledge of the Job Qualifications • To be a biodynamic agriculture farmer the farmer must meet the qualifications of Demeter. • Biological practices include a series of well known farming techniques that increase the quality of the soil. • Dynamic practices are intended to influence biological as well as metaphysical aspects of the farm and to adapt the farm to natural rhythms. Qualifications • Demeter is the brand for products for biodynamic agriculture • Biodynamic preparations serve as the core for the biodynamic method Qualifications • Biodynamic Compost: a way to recycle animal manures and organic waste, stabilize nitrogen, and build soil humus and enhance soil health • Cover Cropping: bare tillage year round is prohibited. Soil must be adequately protected from the degradation of soil erosion and soil structure degradation during periods of the year when it is vulnerable to such degradation Example Compost Preparations Qualifications • Crop Rotation- tillable acreage cannot be planted only to monoculture. Botanical species diversity must be maintained via crop rotation strategies utilized. • Biodynamic preparations are made from medicinal herbs, minerals, and cow dung. Practices • Nine basic preparations: – #500 Horn Manure – #501 Horn Silica – #502 Yarrow – #503 Chamomile – #504 Stinging Nettles – #505 Oak Bark – #506 Dandelion Flowers – #507 Valerian – #508 Horsetail Practices Broad Function Organ in Animal Secondary Influence -- Chemical Works With Other Herb Animal (Derived From Primary) Element Factors Sheath Capture life force from Reproduction Intensification (From C Horn Manure, Water, Oak bark Skull outside, bring species Germination), contract Moon, Ca pattern to the seed rampant etheric growth, resist disease Digestion -- break down Intestine Supporting Organs (From O Horn Manure Chamomile Intestine food, rebuild with own Sap Flow), stabilize N Mercury, Humus, S life force manages Ca/ K Excretion -- remove life Kidneys, Excretion (From S Horn Manure, Yarrow Bladder by-products, open life Bladder Nutrition), retains Si, Venus, S manages force to astral corrects weak astral Si/K Energize and distribute Heart, lungs, Protein (From Expansion N Horn Silica, Mars, Nettle Itself -- harmonize dynamic circulation and In Space), heart-like Fe, Sand animal functions breath rhythm and sensitivity Regulation -- capture Liver Fragrance, Essential Oils H Horn Silica, Jupiter, Dandelion Mesentery self-consciousness (From Plastic Forces), Clay enlivens soil bring to physical body draw in Si, transmutation Sensitivity -- develop Skin, nervous Seed (From Archetype), P Horn Silica, Saturn, Valerian Water animal nature into self system brings warmth K consciousness Practices cont. Farms in the United States that Practice Biodynamic Agriculture Eastern Central Mountain Pacific and Hawaii Eastern • Camphill Village Kimberton Hills CSA • 15-acre garden farm with a diverse seasonal mix of vegetables, flowers, herbs, and fruit • Kimberton, PA • Woodbridge Farm • Seasonal mix of vegetable and fodder crops • Salem, CT • Sequatchie Cove Farm • Market garden and shiitake mushroom cultivation • Southeast Tennessee • Hill and Hollow Farm • 130-acre family farm that is committed to non- mechanized "human-powered" gardening on their three-acre mixed vegetable, herb, and cut flower operation • Edmonton, KY Central • Camphill Village • 500-acre farm • Sauk Centre, MN • Eco Learning Center CSA • Vegetable farm with intensive plantings, extended seasons, and petroleum-free production • Traverse City, Michigan • Philadelphia Community Farm • 400-acre farm • Osceola, WI Mountain • Fat Duck Farm/Emma's Garden Farm • Farms consists of pasture, vegetable gardens and river bosque • Northern New Mexico • The Mountain School of Bellevue, Idaho • 1.4-acre model educational biodynamic garden • Bellevue, Idaho Pacific and Hawaii • Raphael Garden • 3-acre farm with vegetables for a forty-member CSA, fruit trees with sheep, and pasture with a dairy cow • Fair Oaks, California • Spirit of the Earth Farm • 1.75-acres of market gardens and 0.25-acres of tropical flowers • Anahola, HI • Sunfield Farm • 80-acre farm for vegetables, flowers, herbs, and livestock • Located on the Olympic peninsula in Washington Advantages of Biodynamic • Good for the Environment • Improvement in Soil Quality • Societal Benefits • Healthier for the Consumer • Higher Annual Yields Environmental Benefits • Total Elimination of Toxic Chemicals • Conservation of Water • Improvement in Water Quality • Conservation for Wildlife • Reductions in Energy Use • Improvement in Air Quality • Plant Species Co-Mingling • Insect Habitats Soil Quality • Decrease in Erosion • Decrease in Toxicity • Decrease in Soil Compaction • Increase in Nutrients and Richness • Increase in Water Holding Capacity • Broad Crop Rotation Study on the Quality of Two Soil Samples Left: Original degraded soil Right: Soil after two years of Biodynamic farming Study of the Effect of Soil Quality on Plants grown under different conditions • Left: control plant • Center: with chemical fertilizers • Right: in Biodynamic soil Societal Benefits • Towards Community Based Farming/Small-scale Farming • Alternative to large-scale, industrial farming • Better for the Local Economy • Cuts out the Middle Man • No Hierarchy Health Benefits • More Nutritious Foods – Better Quality Soil leads to Better Quality Food • Reduced or Non-existent Exposure to Toxic Chemicals – Pesticides, Herbicides, Fertilizers, etc. • Since most of the food comes from CSA’s, less exposure to the packaging materials used on large-scale, corporation farms • Therapeutic – Biodynamic Farms are often used for mental health care such as for mentally handicapped or stressed-out people Yields from Biodynamic Agriculture Table 2: Comparative Yields of Wheat, Sugar Beets, and Carrots in Tons/Hectare of Dry Matter9 Control B-D Wheat: Grains 4.17 4.55 Straw 4.49 5.51 Sugar Beets: Roots 7.49 8.52 Leaves 4.39 4.93 Carrots: Roots 9.36 10.06 Leaves 6.60 6.75 Disadvantages of Biodynamic Agriculture • Small scale – Agriculture today is about “mass production” – Limited Distribution • Labor Intensive • More Expensive for the Consumer • Against the Mainstream – Difficult to persuade people away from corporation farming due to an overall lack of environmental concern in our society – The cosmic aspects of the practice could possibly frighten or deter people from becoming involved The Economics of Biodynamic • No cost for expensive chemicals • The practice is very labor intensive which results in an increased price for the consumer – “the consumer of biodynamic products pays twice as much for the prevention or reversal of environmental pollution”7 • Small-scale distribution – CSA’s – Farmer’s Markets – On-site pickup Economics Table 4. Returns, Expenses, and Profits in 1980/19819 Size of
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