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Biodynamics

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute- East Troy, Wisconsin

“There is practically no field of human endeavor that does not relate to agriculture in some way.  Seen from whatever perspective you choose, agriculture touches on every single aspect of human life." Rudolf Steiner

The Austrian Philosopher, scientist, seer, and leader of the Anthroposophical movement, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, introduced biodynamics in 1924 by giving a course of lectures on agriculture to farmers and scientists in response to the declination of soil, plant and animal health on farms throughout Europe. Steiner believed that the spiritual world was as tangible as the physical world in which we live and everything in the spiritual world could be studied and analyzed with training. Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer came to this country before the Second World War and pioneered biodynamics on this continent.

Biodynamic agriculture is a wholistic farming approach that views the soil and the farm as a living organism. A Biodynamic farm is one that aspires to a self-contained entity or system that integrates crops and livestock in proper balance for maintaining soil health and also recognizes the inter-connectedness of the surrounding landscape such as the hedgerows, forests, water features all contributing to the over all health of the farm thus making an individuality or unique system unto the farm itself. Biodynamics recognizes the basic principles at work in nature and its forces to bring about balance and healing.

Biodynamics can help farmers deepen their insight by gaining practical understanding of aspects of farming that include more subtle, qualitative relationships. These insights have to do with soil fertility, crop growth, the weather, the seasons, and cosmology.

Resource:  One Man, One Cow, One Planet

Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association
Janet Gamble, Director, MFAI Farm & Food Education, has been a member of the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association’s Board of Directors since 2008. Her passion for Biodynamics over the past 15 years has been cultivated through her own practical application in Stella Gardens and mentoring under the tutelage of Ruth Zinniker, Co-Founder Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Janet has felt that beyond the boundaries of Stella Gardens the Biodynamic movement needs the support and efforts in seeing Biodynamic agriculture as a model to heal our earth and strengthen our cultural roots to food, the environment and personal development. This led Janet to her work on the Board of Directors and extending her volunteerism to the Biodynamic Apprenticeship Training Initiative of North America.

Stella Gardens CSA Subscriptions
Stella Gardens is a certified organic, student-based Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation serving the community since 1997. The students, under the guidance of the Stella Gardens Farm Manager, form a social and economic relationship with the subscriber, insuring the local production of quality food and care of the soil, ground water and adjacent natural areas. In return, for a subscription to Stella Gardens, the New Farmer Foundation Year students provide a bountiful harvest each week.
Read more about CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture)

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is a public, non-profit institute for education and research in sustainable agriculture, which admits students of any race, color and national or ethnic origin.