Biodynamic Agriculture

1. Biodynamic Agriculture Economic Botany Dr. Uma Garimella April 19, 2007

2. Principle Investigators: Amanda MacMillan Kendria Taylor

3. 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

4. Concerns with Industrial Agriculture: • Nutrient depletion and erosion of topsoil • Soil compaction and decreased water holding capacity • Overuse of chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers • Pesticide resistant insects • Loss of wetlands, wildlife habitat, tropical rainforests, and native vegetation • Reduced genetic diversity due to genetic uniformity of crops • Groundwater contamination due to sediments, salts, fertilizers, pesticides, and manures • Overuse of surface and groundwater for irrigation • The decline of family farms • Increasing costs of production • Toxic residues found on foods

5. Figure 1: Crop Duster1 Figure 3: Field Sprayer2 Figure 2: Eutrophication3

6. Figure 4: Point and Non-point sources of Water Pollution3

7. Figure 5: The Nitrogen Cycle4

8. Sustainable Agriculture Legislation • Congress’s 1990 “Farm Bill” stated that: • “the term sustainable agriculture means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term: • satisfy human food and fiber needs • enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends • make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls • sustain the economic viability of farm operations • enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”5

9. Sustainable Agriculture Legislation cont. • USDA’s 1996 Sustainable Agriculture Policy • The "USDA is committed to working toward the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of diverse food, fiber, agriculture, forest, and range systems. USDA will balance goals of improved production and profitability, stewardship of the natural resource base and ecological systems, and enhancement of the vitality of rural communities. USDA will integrate these goals into its policies and programs, particularly through interagency collaboration, partnerships and outreach.”5

10. Sustainable Agriculture cont. Divided into three branches: • Organic • Biodynamic • Indore Process

11. Organic An ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.

12. Organic • Agriculture production without the use of synthetic chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, and antibiotics

13. Biodynamic • Biodynamic agriculture incorporates the beneficial use of the cosmic energies into the cultivation of plants, together with systematic inputs of mineral, plant and animal nutrient to the field. Cultivation practices are carried out according to the biodynamic calendar.

14. Indore Process It was observed in the course of these studies that the maintenance of soil fertility is the real basis of health and of resistance to disease. The 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.

15. 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

16. Anthroposophy • “Wisdom of the human being” • Path of self knowledge • It is essentially a discipline by which to see into the spiritual world.

17. Anthroposophy • It is a path of knowledge, to guide the Spiritual in the human being to the Spiritual in the universe. It arises in man as a need of the heart, of the life of feeling; and it can be justified inasmuch as it can satisfy this inner need.

18. Anthroposophy • Teaches the methods/disciplines of achieving spiritual, sense–free knowing • Seeing of the inner core of every reality • Knowledge of the higher or spiritual world is made possible by the principle of self that is referred to as the “Spirit, Ego or I”

19. History • Founded by Rudolph Steiner • Began in 1913 • Steiner had a dispute with Annie Besant over Jiddu Krishnamurri being the reincarnated Christ

20. Basic Principles6 • 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

21. Qualifications cont. • 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

22. Qualifications cont. • Demeter is the brand for products for biodynamic agriculture • Biodynamic preparations serve as the core for the biodynamic method

23. Qualifications cont. • 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

24. Qualifications cont. • 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.

25. 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

26. Practices

27. Practices cont.

28. Farms in the United States that Practice Biodynamic Agriculture6 Eastern Central Mountain Pacific and Hawaii

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. Advantages of Biodynamic Agriculture • Good for the Environment • Improvement in Soil Quality • Societal Benefits • Healthier for the Consumer • Higher Annual Yields

34. 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

35. 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

36. Table 1: Soil Characteristics of Different Agricultural Systems of Manuring over 18 years7

37. Study on the Quality of Two Soil Samples8 Left: Original degraded soil Right: Soil after two years of Biodynamic farming

38. Study of the Effect of Soil Quality on Plants grown under different conditions8 • Left: control plant • Center: with chemical fertilizers • Right: in Biodynamic soil

39. 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

40. 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

41. Yields from Biodynamic Agriculture Table 2: Comparative Yields of Wheat, Sugar Beets, and Carrots in Tons/Hectare of Dry Matter9

42. 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

43. Peer-Reviewed Scientific Research Soil Quality and Financial Performance of Biodynamic and Conventional Farms in New Zealand10 • One of the first reputable studies conducted on biodynamic methods • Over a 4 year period (1987-1991) • On the North Island of New Zealand • Compared 8 Biodynamic and 8 Conventional Farms on soil quality and financial performance • Biodynamic Farms had all been managed for at least 8 years • Soil Quality Methods: • 130 soil samples from 22 paddocks were analyzed • Soil Quality Results: • “The biodynamic farms proved in most enterprises 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 thicker topsoil.”10

44. Table 3: Mean Values of Aggregated Soils Data10 *indicates a significantly higher value

45. Research cont. Financial Performance • Methods: • Farmers were interviewed and their accounts analyzed • Results: • The biodynamic citrus, livestock, and dairy farms were able to secure reliable markets for their products • “Gross margins for the biodynamic market garden were less than for the conventional counterpart in 1988 and 1989 but greater in 1990 and 1991.”10 • Developing markets, improved productivity, and farm management have helped increase returns for biodynamic market gardens

46. Research cont. Biological Farming for Sustainable Agriculture Production11 • “Study conducted to compare organic, biodynamic, integrated, and conventional broadacre farming systems for attributes of sustainability”11 • Conducted in 1989 and spanned a 6 year period • Took place at Roseworthy campus in Australia • Methods: • Monitored indicators such as soil physical, chemical, and biological changes, product quality, economics, crop water usage, and energy requirements • Results for the biodynamic farming system: • Biodynamic treatment had the highest gross margins • Available P levels declined 12% • Weed management the main problem for increasing production levels

47. Research cont. Biodynamic vs. Conventional Farming Effects on Soil Structure Expressed by Simulated Potential Productivity12 • “Conducted to compare two farming systems by converting ‘static’ basic soil properties into a ‘dynamic’ assessment using simulation modeling”12 • Soils on four fields on two farms were analyzed • Southwestern part of the Netherlands • Sampling took place in 1996 • Both farms had been practicing their management systems for about 70 years • Methods: • Four procedures were used to express differences in soil structure as a function of different management • WAVE simulation model used to predict potato yields

48. Research cont. • Results: • Basic static soil parameters were not significantly different • Simulated yields were significantly different • Biodynamic Fields: 10,200 and 10,300 kg dry matter tuber yield ha-1 yr-1 • Conventional Fields: 9,400 and 9,700 kg dry matter tuber yield ha-1 yr-1 • Conclusions: • “The biodynamic management type has a significantly higher water-limited yield than the conventional type. This indicates that biodynamic management has favorable effects on soil structure when potential productivity is taken as an indicator, thus providing a positive contribution to the sustainability analysis.”12

49. The Economics of Biodynamic Agriculture • There is no cost goes into 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

50. Economics cont. Table 4. Returns, Expenses, and Profits in 1980/19819 *Contract Work, Forests, Rent, Interest, Etc.