Star and Furrow 105

ISSN No: 1472-4634

Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

Issue no: 105

Summer 2006

£4.00

BIODYNAMICS & ENVIRONMENT

FARM & LANDSCAPE

KNOW YOUR SOIL

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Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

AIMS & OBJECTIVES OF THE BDAA The Association exists in order to support, promote and develop the biodynamic approach to farming, gardening and forestry. This unique form of organic husbandry is inspired by the research of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) and is founded on a holistic and spiritual understanding of nature and the human being.

The Association tries to keep abreast of developments in science, nutrition, education, health and social reform. It is linked to the Agricultural Department of the School of Spiritual Science (Switzerland) and affiliated as a group of the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain. It is also a full member of Demeter International, SUSTAIN, IFOAM and the Five Year Freeze.

Membership is open to everyone interested in working with, developing or learning about biodynamics. Current rates are £30 (£12.50 concessions). Members receive a quarterly newsletter, Star and Furrow twice a year, regular information on events and access to a member’s library. Many local groups exist for further study and the exchange of practical experiences.

The BDAA stocks more than a hundred books on biodynamic agriculture and related subjects. These are available from the office by mail order.

SEED DEVELOPMENT PROJECT The Association is working to develop a sustainable on farm plant breeding programme, increase the availability of high quality seed varieties suited to organic growing conditions and encourage the establishment of a cooperative network of biodynamic seed producers. The breeding and development of appropriate site adapted varieties is of vital interest to biodynamic farmers and offers the only long term alternative to biotechnology. It also requires an ongoing research commitment that is entirely dependant on gifts and donations.

DEMETER CERTIFICATION The Association owns and administers the Demeter Certification Mark that is used by biodynamic producers in the UK to guarantee to consumers that internationally recognised biodynamic production standards are being followed. These standards cover both production and processing and apply in more than forty countries. They are equivalent to or higher than basic organic standards. The Demeter scheme is recognised in the UK as Organic Certification UK6.

APPRENTICE TRAINING A two year practical apprentice training course is offered in biodynamic agriculture and horticulture. Apprentices work in exchange for board and lodging on established biodynamic farms and gardens and receive tutorial guidance and instruction from experienced practitioners. Practical training is supported with regular theoretical sessions either on the farm or in coordination with other local centres. Two week-long block courses are offered to all UK apprentices each year. Graduating apprentices receive a certificate from the BDAA. FUNDING The Association is a small organisation wholly dependent on subscriptions, donations and grants. There is a healthy and growing interest in biodynamics and to meet this welcome development additional funds are being sought to supplement the limited resources available. Becoming a member and encouraging others to join is an important way of supporting the work. Donations over and above the recommended membership subscription are also extremely helpful. Even the smallest contribution can make a real difference. For those considering making a will and possibly leaving something to support biodynamic development, a legacy leaflet is now available. Please contact the office for a copy.

For information on all aspects of the Association’s work contact: Biodynamic Agricultural Association, Painswick Inn Project, Gloucester Street, Stroud, Glos, GL5 1QG Tel. 0044 (0)1453 759501 Email: office@biodynamic.org.uk Website: www.biodynamic.org.uk

STAR & FURROW is the membership magazine of The Biodynamic Agricultural Association (BDAA).

It is issued free to members. Non members can also purchase Star and Furrow.

For two copies per annum the rates are: UK £9.50 including postage Europe (airmail) £10.50 Rest of the World (airmail) £12 BIODYNAMIC AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION The Painswick Inn Project, Gloucester Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 1QG Tel/Fax: 01453 759501 E-mail: office@biodynamic.org.uk Website: www.biodynamic.org.uk Editor: Richard Swann, Contact via the BDAA Office or E-mail: starfurrow@biodynamic.org.uk STAR AND FURROW Editorial Group: Richard Swann, Jane Cobbald, Bernard Jarman, Anna Irwin, Jessica Standing, Laurence Dungworth The function of Star and Furrow is to encourage the free exchange of ideas and experience among those who work with, or are interested in biodynamic farming, gardening and related subjects. Contributors subscribe to no dogma and are bound by no rules. Their contributions are personal documents, not official utterances by the Association.

Final dates for contributions are 1st April for the summer issue and 1st October for the winter issue. Copy should either, be typed / printed in black on A4 paper, on disk in a format accessible to Microsoft Word or sent by e-mail. Please send articles to the editor at the BDAA Office.

Front cover picture: Richard Swann Design and layout: Bill Hicks Printed on 115 gsm Era Silk 100% recovered paper waste by SevernPrint, Gloucester Published by the Biodynamic Agricultural Association © BDAA 2006 Charity No: 269036

Issue Number 105

Summer 2006

BDAA COUNCIL

ISSN 1472-4634

CONTENTS

Chairman: Nick Raeside Vice Chairman: Laurence Dungworth Treasurer: Ian Bailey Other Council Members: Richard Gantlet, Liz Ellis, Pat Fleming, Chris Stockdale and Peter van Vliet BDAA Executive Director: Bernard Jarman Email: bjarman@biodynamic.org.uk Association Secretary: Jessica Standing

4

Biodynamics & the environment

8

Developing landscape & enhancing wildlife

12

The BERAS project

13

Biodynamics & the forest enviroment

16

Farm auditing for sustainability

18

What happened when biodynamic farming met permaculture design?

20

Seed Development Fieldsman Peter Brinch Email: pbrinch@biodynamic.org.uk

Review - SEKEM - Ecovillages

DEMETER STANDARDS COMMITTEE Chairman: Sue Bradley Tel: 01509 673897

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Hay in the tree tops

24

A new centre for the BDAA

26

Reviews

Demeter Standards Development Officer: Timothy Brink Tel: 0131 478 1201 Email: timbrink@biodynamic.org.uk

- BD spray & compost preparations - Extrordinary plant qualities - The BD food & cookbook

Scheme Co-ordinator and Secretary: Fiona Mackie Tel: 0131 6243921 Email: fionajmackie@hotmail.com

30

What does light say about food quality?

33

Knowing more about soil

39

A new impulse for social change

40

Life forces in the plant organism

42

Beyond organics

43

Demeter market place

44

Advertisments

EDITORIAL The environmental crisis is not far from the front pages of the newspapers on most days now and much is being made of it – some constructive and some not. So how can those who are working with biodynamics deal with this pressing issue?

In this edition we have started to address this by looking at the biodynamic farm and forest and the contribution they can make to the local cultural landscape. A farm audit has also been included where you can assess the impact your farm or garden has on your local environment.

Having a solid knowledge and understanding of your soil is essential to creating a healthy biodynamic land organism and Richard Thornton Smith has written an excellent introduction. With the growth of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association, we are also announcing the BDAA Council’s wish to develop a new centre to give the Association a worthy home.

It feels to be very timely to also be devoting some space to the Demeter Market Place. This is not only because the marketing of Demeter products is gathering a new momentum, but also out of environmental reasons. The supermarkets are tightening their grip on peoples’ spending power especially when it comes to food. One way to counter that is to support your local supplier of biodynamic (or organic) food.

In the next issue we will continue with the environmental theme as well as dedicate some space to questions relating to food and nutrition. I would like to hear from you if you have any contributions to make on this very topical issue.

Have an enjoyable summer.

Editor

BIODYNAMICS & THE ENVIRONMENT

by Laurence Dungworth

ell, I have decided to do my bit for the environment – to be a 21st century ecowarrior. So, I am going to plant trees, buy organic food, run my car on bio-diesel and go on holiday in England’s National Parks. And then everything is going to be alright, isn’t it. Isn’t it?

W

Well, unfortunately when it comes to the environment things are not that simple. To help us on our way we firstly need to come to a definition of the environment.

Whose environment?

When in doubt reach for the Oxford English Dictionary, and according to this the environment is: 1. The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates, or, 2. The natural world, especially as affected by human activity.

and an environmentalist is: A person who is concerned with the protection of the environment.

Further, if you type environment into Google, you get two and a quarter million results, with the focus being on the second definition.

My environment My personal environment as I write this, is my room. I share this with only a few people and it is subject to a particular temperature in which I am comfortable, to musical noises of my choice, pictures I have chosen, and of course a certain amount of radiation from the computer screen.

If I step outside my house and into my garden there is an immediate change. There are of course the flowers and vegetables that I grow, but I share this space with several groups of other users and they all have their influence. If I look beyond the garden fence my view is also taken up with the town where I live and all the buildings that make it up. Being in a town the noise also increases dramatically – and it is not my noise. It mostly comes from passing traffic, which one soon gets used to, but in addition there is also all the exhaust fumes from all this traffic. Some of this must find its way into my garden and surely pollutes the air I breathe as well as the soil that grows my vegetables and flowers. This is very inconsiderate of all those drivers – do they not know they are polluting my environment?

If we now go to the farm where I work we can look even wider. We’d better drive, as we have to get there before the end of the paragraph. The farm is on the edge of the Cotswolds which is an area well known for its beautiful landscapes. As I write the cowslips are blooming, and I am sure that by the time you read this there will be many other flowers in the chalk grassland hay fields. The farm is a community farm that I help to look after and so there are various influences working together but I am very active in the shaping of the landscape. If I look over our recently laid hedge, then I can see our neighbours farm, and I can sometimes see him spraying his chemicals. I also see his

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Star and Furrow No: 104

huge barns with his many animals kept in for much of the year.

Looking further afield two things attract my attention – one good and one bad. Firstly there are several fields in which trees are establishing themselves due to less intensive management. Secondly, I can see the Nympsfield wind turbine sticking prominently up on the ridge across the Stroud valley. I have carefully avoided saying which is good and which is bad though.

Far in the distance is the motorway with a seemingly endless flow of vehicles, and overhead the jet streams are a constant reminder of the passing planes. All of these people going about their business. What effect can we possibly have on this?

Our environment In some of these instances it is obvious where our influence lies and the immediate effect it has. However, things are very subtle and cause and effect are finely intertwined. What does become clear is that the connection we have to an environment has a direct effect on the care we take of it. There is a general feeling of alienation from the environment, whether it is the destruction of the rainforest that is ultimately due to our consumerism, or the piece of litter that we walk past because someone else dropped it. When we experience the environment as not being ours, then we allow all sorts of things to happen that we shouldn’t. We have to embrace the fact that we all have a lot to do with the whole earth, and the effect we have on her is determined by our choice of action.

Together with the earth we have gone through a process of co-evolution, and this brings us into a special relationship.

The environment of the earth has had long lasting effects on us, and increasingly through the 20th century we have begun to have a lasting effect on it. Through working together with what the earth offered we were provided with water, food and shelter, just as a mother provides a child with these necessary things to nurture it into adulthood.

But the earth has grown older over the years and now it seems that we have rather outgrown our nest. It thus becomes necessary for us to begin to look after the mother who raised us, as she grows older and increasingly unable to respond to the heightened demands we place on her.

We have grown up now and need to become responsible within this relationship. We need to do our bit.

Doing our bit If we have a look at the actions I outlined at the beginning of the article we can see some of the dilemmas we are faced with.

Firstly, planting trees: this is considered one of those environmental holy cows i.e. it is always good to plant trees. Certainly their growing helps with carbon sequestration – the absorption of the excessive carbon

Buy organic food. Various studies have shown that organic farming is better for the environment from a wildlife point of view, as well as possibly producing healthier food.

There is also the reduced reliance on fossil fuels that are otherwise used to produce the agrochemicals necessary under conventional production. However there is the danger that increasingly industrialised organic production negates the wildlife benefits associated with organic farming. It needs to be more than chemical-free production to avoid problems such as monocultures, and lack of habitats. In addition, consumer’s commitment to organic food could also increase the transport of food if they favour exotic, organic produce over local produce.

Bio-diesel. Being carbon neutral, i.e. releasing only the carbon dioxide that it absorbed through its growth, is a positive benefit of bio-diesel, as is its lower level of localised pollution. However, two of its methods of production are questionable. Firstly rapeseed is a common ingredient, but this can be a very intensive form of agriculture, with the crop often being sprayed off before harvest. There is also the danger of the crop not being GMfree. Another potential ingredient is palm oil. This is a tropical plant and the creation of vast palm plantations has been the cause of rainforest destruction in Asia.

National Parks. There are many positive things about our National Parks, and any holiday that is close to home is very positive due to the reduced travelling pollution.

However some National Parks have been using agrochemicals to maintain an environment that some would not consider natural. An example of this is the spraying of heather moorland to prevent bracken encroachment. The moorland is valuable in itself, but is nature not trying to carry on its natural process, and are the national park authorities being completely responsible when it comes to the use of these ‘safe’ chemicals in a ‘natural’ area?

above and below: Eco-buildings at Pishwanton, East Lothian, Scotland

photographs by Richard Swann

dioxide that would otherwise contribute to global warming.

However it has recently come to light that scientists have not appreciated the extent to which methane is emitted in this process. Methane as a greenhouse gas is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide so it could possibly overshadow the beneficial effect of tree planting. Things are very uncertain, as these are preliminary laboratory tests and investigations by the Forestry Commission and foresters have questioned the assertion by the press that forests will no longer act as carbon sinks. It may well be that the effect of methane is negligible.

Forests are a very beneficial wildlife habitat supporting many species and so it is good to have trees. However there is such a thing as inappropriate planting, which can cause a loss of valuable wildlife habitat. This is well known now with respect to the planting of conifers on heather moorland (though this is not all bad) but also applies to lowland sites as well, such as planting (or scrub invasion) of chalk grassland, referred to earlier. In these cases it can be better not to plant trees but to look after the habitat that is there originally. One also needs to bear in mind not only the species one is planting but also their provenance. Most people are aware that it is better for us to plant English oaks (quercus robur) than turkey oaks (quercus cerris), but it is equally important that the seeds are sourced reasonably locally and not from as far afield as Hungary as has been the case with plantings of quercus robur (English oaks).

What can we do?

The world of environmentalism is fraught with contradictions and a lack of knowledge. So much so, that some espouse a hermitic, self-sufficient life where our detrimental effects become insignificant. There is some value in this, but our higher nature is that of a social being, and so more is required.

Our current justifiable preoccupation with environmental issues was not present when Steiner was speaking, otherwise he would surely have had something to say about it. Maybe this is just as well, because we have to now think for ourselves. We can also look around and learn a great deal from the wider environmental movement.

One common realisation is of the separation of people from their environment, as a direct result of industrialisation and development.

From an anthroposophical perspective, this is a process of ego development in which we feel separate from everything.

This is a very important development, but we must bear in mind that it is a phase rather than an end, and we need to, as individuals, recreate the links we have with each other and our environment.

In the first instance it is the farmers, gardeners and foresters who work on the earth can begin to care for it more. But, hopefully it will become apparent that that line between farmer and consumer must become more blurred and porous than it has tended to be in recent times, and we must all develop a responsibility. So how should we do our bit?

Biodynamics – Caring for the Earth Steiner’s audience when he gave the Agriculture Course in 1924 were those mainly involved in the production of food, and so this was the emphasis in the lectures. However, biodynamics can potentially play a big role in the care for the earth, as the fundamental principles of biodynamics are beneficial to the environment.

Firstly Steiner talks in lecture two about the farm aspiring to a state of being a self-contained individuality. This is very different from the current status quo where it is common for many farms, organic included, importing most of their inputs. A farm that is able to produce most of what it needs from within itself firstly reduces the amount of transport that is involved with the production of its produce, and secondly can show those who are interested, a truer cost of this production.

Later in the Agriculture Course, in lecture seven, he talks about the need for a variety of habitats on the farm – extolling the benefits of woodlands, shrubs, meadows, damp areas and their associated flora and fauna. He justifies this loss of productive land by stating that it “is so essential to good farming that your farm will be more successful even if this means a slight reduction in your tillable acreage”. However, at the beginning of lecture seven he discusses how nature was perceived at that time and states: “Everything we are supposed to know about these things is neatly pigeonholed into species and genera. But that is not how things are in nature. In nature, and actually throughout the universe, everything is in mutual interaction with everything else”

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So, a truly biodynamic farm should have less of an impact on the environment in terms of transport and inputs, but a greater positive effect in terms of diverse habitat creation and maintenance.

But if we look at Steiner’s indications of the process the earth is undergoing, we can see that we are an integral part of the being of an aging earth that needs to become re-spiritualised. This is a long process, but one which we have to be actively involved in. Like an older lady, the physical earth works less well, but she has to prepare for the next phase of her life. How do we assist in that transformation? How do we help her prepare?

Well, the answer is in the last question – it is all in the preparation. The biodynamic preparations, given by Steiner, were explained in terms of the ways in which they contribute to the quantity and quality of food. However, they also play a vital role in the transformation of the earth.

The cow and biodynamics How to reconcile the importance of the cow within biodynamics with the fact that they have been identified as a major producer of methane – a potent greenhouse gas.

Firstly, taking a historical perspective, there have been many million ruminants for millennia with no noticeable change in climate. Recent climate change is considered man-induced and has its source in industrialisation, especially road and rail transport.

Looking at the effect cows do have, we should examine the effect of our own diet. Nowadays people in the ‘west’ consume far more meat and dairy products than in the past, and than is possibly good for them. This increases the ruminant population above what the earth may be able to bear.

So, seen in context, the cow still has a place on our farms and within nature.

Space does not permit the detail necessary to do justice to the way the preparations work, nor does my patchy understanding of them. Suffice to say, that when one applies them, the physical preparation is merely acting as a carrier for forces that enable a transformative healing to occur. This is not a healing that returns the earth to how it was before, but is part of an ever-dynamic process. So, if we are looking at forces working with the life of the earth, then we are in the realm of the ethers. There are four ethers, traditionally connected to the four elements. This is shown below with the addition of the preparations: Element

Ether

Fire Air Water Earth

Warmth Light Tone Life

Preparations Valerian Dandelion Nettle Horn manure

Chamomile Yarrow Oak Horn silica

This classification was the topic of the last IBIG conference (reported in Star and Furrow 104), and is simply one way of beginning to understand how the preparations work. By using them we are strengthening the earth’s ether body and enabling her to go through this transformation.

The way forward Hopefully this article has shown that the issues surrounding the environment are far from simple and straightforward. However the only solution lies with our beginning to understand the complexities and to applying ourselves in order to make sense of it. Within this, a biodynamic perspective can help us to care for this, our earth. To make a start, here are some things to attempt: If we have a garden we should look after it in a fashion that is as beneficial for the wildlife of the area as possible whilst producing some food for ourselves and friends. Using the preparations will improve the quality of this produce, but also helps with the earth’s transformation. If we only have a small area, it can be helpful to share this with other gardeners or allotment holders.

Whether you garden or not, make a connection to a local biodynamic farm. If you do not have a local biodynamic farm, make a connection to an organic farmer to see if he would be interested in converting. Alternatively you could establish a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project to be run biodynamically. There was a full article on CSAs in Star and Furrow 102.

Try to get as much of your produce from this or other local farms. If you want to plant trees, establish a landscape group connected to the farm to see if there is a need for more trees or hedges, or whether other landscape features and habitats need some special attention.

With the other issues affecting our environment, the earth, we need to constantly bring to mind the consequences of what we do – becoming conscious of our actions. If we want to look then for alternatives we can, but this must be a matter for the individual for it to have a lasting effect.

Enjoy this beautiful earth that we are part of. Some say we should leave it as we found it, but I think if we try quite hard, we can leave it in a condition better than how we found it.

Gardening for the Environment Our gardens and allotments offer great scope for us to do a little for the environment – both locally and globally.

With a little muck from a local friendly biodynamic and organic farm, and seeds from an organic or biodynamic supplier, one is able to produce fruit and vegetables and offer a haven for wildlife, without little other external input.

The use of the preparations is important even in backyard gardens, as is following the planting calendar. This brings the earth into harmony with the cosmos, as does the imagination of all the planets going around the earth. We all know the sun is the centre of the solar system, but we all have our gardens on the earth, and this imagination recognises the wonderful dances the planets make around the earth.

Composting all the ‘waste’ from the whole garden, or even growing things specifically to be composted (i.e. green manure, nettles, comfrey) one is able to maintain fertility for production. Some areas for wildlife habitat i.e. lawns are actually more diverse and therefore more valuable if they are lower in fertility.

The compost heap itself is teeming with wildlife for instance slow worms, which also help with ‘pest’ control. It is important to remember that pests are also wildlife and valuable for the environment, even if not always so appreciated by us.

Other habitats can be created or maintained, whether it is flower and herb rich grassland, fruit trees or even a pond.

An area for vegetables makes a good contribution, reducing our dependence on imported food – there is no more local than your own garden. The gluts that you may have can also be preserved to provide fruit and vegetables during more lean times.

Useful contacts: Friends of the Earth - http://www.foe.co.uk/ Greenpeace - http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/ Cultivating Communities (CSA) - http://www.cuco.org.uk/

Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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DEVELOPING LANDSCAPE AND ENHANCING WILDLIFE A BIODYNAMIC BIODYNAMIC APPROACH APPROACH TO TO FARMING FARMING PRACTICE PRACTICE A

by Thomas van Elsen - translated by David Heaf

1. Why work with cultural landscape?

between people and nature.

Why do people engaged in biodynamic agriculture and horticulture also work on the development of the cultural landscape? When this question is put to a workshop of people interested in biodynamic agriculture, the responses show a great variety of viewpoints as illustrated by the following quotes from the participants on an introductory course (Forschungsring, Frankfurt, January 2002):

All responses seemed to have something to do with the attitude of human beings to nature. There are obviously a number of standpoints from which we can view landscape and the natural world. Firstly, the landscape is used for the cultivation of agricultural products and thus for feeding people. Secondly, unspoilt landscape also contributes to people's relaxation, to sensorial nourishment.

Furthermore, landscape used for agriculture 'nourishes' a multitude of organisms that have found habitats in Central Europe only through agricultural activity. Many species of bird, butterfly, orchid and arable weed were introduced into Central European landscapes through putting post-glacial forests under cultivation. Agriculture was not always the greatest cause of species extinction or environmental destruction that it is today. On the contrary, regionally differentiated and species-rich cultural landscapes, that today are regarded as in decline, only arose through historical land use. Indeed, farming caused many animal and plant species to move in.

photographs by the author

conserving natural flora protecting species increasing species diversity on permanent grassland; managing poor (unfertilized) meadowland establishing hedgerows for animals creating intact surroundings for farmland working holistically with the environment not exploiting the earth but caring for it a stimulating and healthy environment for our children creating and developing/networking habitats preserving traditional varieties planting woodland promoting beneficial insects no monocultures wildlife refuges human responsibility symbiosis of people with the natural world formation and maintenance of a cultural landscape capable of giving people healthy food and surroundings creating a pleasant working environment for people health landscape as a place where people live All the participants readily agreed that it is important to develop cultural landscape. They made several references to nature, species and habitat conservation and maintenance. Others placed more emphasis on the significance for people of an intact landscape. It should be capable of providing healthy food as well as pleasant and healthy working and living conditions. It should also be developed in such a way that beneficial insects are encouraged, in order to minimise crop pests. And finally the participants called for a holistic, responsible, caring approach to landscape: a symbiosis

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Star and Furrow 105

What is the connection between the changing understanding people have of nature and these two contrasting effects of human activities on nature – one which once led to its enrichment and the other which now causes its impoverishment? There are also contrasts in the contemporary debate on nature conservation. Whereas conservative nature conservation aims at protecting nature from people, biodynamic agriculture places people in the centre; make the human being the very foundation. Many an approach in organic agriculture restricts itself to farming in a way that is as 'environmentally friendly' as possible, i.e. has the least possible impact on the existing natural world. Is this 'ecocentrism' an irreconcilable contrast to the 'anthropocentrism' of biodynamics? We shall return to this question. Before that, I should like to consider the motives behind nature conservation and landscape development in

organic agriculture and give an overview of some possible practical measures for organic farms.

2. Landscape development through organic farming In dealing with landscape issues in organic farming practice, we can find several levels, and all conceivable transitions between them. There are farmers who have changed to pesticide-free farming for purely economic and rational reasons and who at the same time are somewhat unconcerned about landscape development. Others try to shape their farm landscapes by making use of organic farming practices, for example planting hedges to protect against erosion and to encourage beneficial insects.

Others think that what is important is not only landscape structure, but also the species diversity of the land under their management. They try through mowing regimes to produce the most species-rich and healthy hay for their cattle, even if the tonnage yield is lower. Agrienvironmental schemes lend support to this, for the later mowing times not only allow more plant species to flower, ensure their survival and provide nourishment for the insects that visit flowers, but also ground-nesting birds are enabled to raise their broods before mowing. Still others try to understand their farm as an organism of a higher order in which the individual landscape elements fulfil functions as do the different organs in an organism. Thus they aim to set up and manage unproductive habitats in the landscape so as to introduce warmth and colour into it through the variety of insects and flowers at these sites. And there are farmers who try to work out a development plan for their farm based on its individual situation and landscape and in doing so aim to involve people from outside in the process.

In collaboration with farm customers they hold seminars and organize working weekends in which upkeep and development measures can be carried out together, and through which people can rebuild a connection with cultural landscape. But within this process, before anything is changed, the landscape is studied and specialist support from nature conservation organizations and consultants is called in who can provide on-farm conservation and environmental advice.

2.1 Developing cultural landscapes – a matter of co-operation and study In 'refilling' cleared agricultural land with structural elements and biotopes, before any reshaping work is done, it is useful to study the special farm and landscape context, so that instead of producing a conglomeration of arbitrarily established biotopes, a harmonious and appropriate continued development of the cultural landscape is possible. This aspect should become more the concern of farmers themselves.

There is no shortage of suggestions as to how farmers can be supported in this. It helps if qualified nature conservation consultancies are set up to give on-farm advice, as is already successful practice in a number of places (van Elsen 2005a, 2005b, www.naturschutzberatung.info). Several people have suggested combining organic conversion with establishing a landscape stewardship and development plan that is worked out and implemented with the co-operation of the farmer. This requires the farmer to take a fresh look at the landscape together with the farm staff and anyone

interested in the farm neighbourhood. This process must not only take into account the knowledge and experience of those who deal with and work in the farm landscape, but must also be open to new points of view and insights. The adviser or planner can contribute to this with ecological and specialist nature conservation knowledge, map the landscape habitats, and detect developmental potentials.

He becomes a facilitator for 'fellow students', assists development, and places himself at the disposal of those engaged in the process. This participative planning process, which draws in the local knowledge and experience of the farmer, may result in formulating a vision for the farm in the form of a landscape development plan that identifies and illustrates its developmental potentials.

Thus the aim of this planning concept must be to set a process in motion in which the course of what is being created can grow, along with the capacities and changing attitudes of those responsible (van Elsen et al. 2000). Such processes may appear very different according to the composition of the group of participants (cf. inter alia Beismann 1995, Fuchs 1997, Vereijken et al. 1997, van Elsen 2000, 2001, 2005c), but they always involve an intensive study of the landscape to be developed and raise awareness of people's intentions and viewpoints about it.

2.2 Establishment, development and care of biotopes in agricultural landscapes What practical measures can we take to develop the landscapes of organic farms? Planting hedges is what usually first comes to mind. Hedges develop as 'linear woodland margins' into exceedingly valuable biotopes that provide habitats for many plant and animal species. The ecological value of a managed hedgerow increases with age and width. Ideally, when planted it should be fiverowed or at least three-rowed. In the interest of animal biodiversity indigenous shrub and tree species are planted.

There are numerous publications available that give advice on establishing and managing hedges and spinneys.

Organic farmers are trying to go beyond the familiar uses of hedgerows as support for beneficial insects or as protection from erosion – for instance by using leaves and branches of the shrubs as a valuable supplement to winter fodder, as was the case in the past. In doing so they are also reviving old techniques such as pollarding and coppicing. Further landscape development options with timber include planting single trees and the establishment and management of meadowland orchards of standards (long-stemmed trees).

Many habitats can be redeveloped using limited resources.

Dry stone walls built with stone gathered from the fields and left to develop vegetation spontaneously provide a particular microclimate for animal species requiring warmth. A newly established pond in part of a field, where each year the tractor gets stuck in the mud, is a magnet for all sorts of creatures that are driven out of the cultivated areas. Such measures can allow scope for further developments, i.e. restore to nature some room for manoeuvre.

Pioneer biotopes and areas of successional vegetation on which plants are free to develop without intervention, grassland subject to drainage reversal and newly established ponds or lakes all offer such development potential. Where for legal reasons the establishment of hedges for dividing large fields is problematic, it is Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

9

nevertheless permissible to introduce species-rich 'flowering strips' with annuals or perennials.

Whereas in areas where land has been cleared for intensive agriculture, the prime concern of nature conservation is reestablishing biotopes, in richly structured districts it is more a matter of managing and developing the existing structural diversity.

Here the requirements of land use present several threats to diversity of both biotopes and species. If calcareous arable fields on level ground are set aside they lose their annual wild flowers of cultivation. Poor grassland turns to scrub when grazing ceases. Forest re-establishes on mountain pastures that are not mown. Deliberately keeping such marginal sites under appropriate management through organic or ecological farming, for instance within the framework of contractual nature conservation such as environmental stewardship schemes, promises a future for orchids, grasshoppers and butterflies on dry slopes and for summer pheasant's eye or summer adonis (Adonis aestivalis) and large Venus' looking-glass (Legousia speculum-veneris) on calcareous arable fields in Central Europe. It makes complete sense to integrate marginal sites in the overall management of biodynamic farms. And it is not just a few farmers who value hay from montane sites as a worthwhile supplement to protein-rich clover-grass forage – with beneficial consequences for animal health.

2.3 Practical measures on cultivated areas Encouraging the wild plant and animal life of cultural landscapes can be integrated into actual management practices for farmland, whether arable or pasture. In order to promote species-rich wildlife communities on arable fields it is advisable to avoid combining several arable fields into a single unit, and to divide existing large fields into smaller units. Marginal structures are valuable habitats for many threatened species of plants and animals in cultural landscapes. Where rarer wildflowers occur in arable fields it is desirable to supplement the existing herbicide-free management system with the establishment of extensively managed strips along field margins and without mechanical weed control and undersowing in them. Another practical measure to encourage many species currently under threat is, on selected areas, to dispense with stubble management immediately postharvest.

On grassland, radical changes in resowing the following crop, cutting for silage earlier, and increased frequency of usage have led to an impoverishment of formerly speciesrich and differentiated plant communities. Practices that are desirable for increasing extensive management in organic farming and that simultaneously protect insects, amphibia and meadow birds include: introduction of beam mowers and their further development as an alternative to rotary mowers; keeping the cutting height to at least 8-12 cm; mowing systems that allow animals a chance to escape, such as staggered mowing, strip mowing and mowing patches from the middle to the outside; timing mowing so as to allow as many plants as possible

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to flower; leaving strips of meadow until the next cutting (fallow rotations); no harrowing or rolling after the beginning of the breeding season; use of game refuges at harvest; avoiding repeated mowing of margins of fields and farm tracks.

In fruit cultivation, the cultivation of scattered fruit trees is incredibly valuable to animals compared with certain shortstemmed fruit plantations. Yet even in existing shortstemmed plantations it is possible to improve the situation for animals, for example by establishing strips of wild plants around the plantations, individual long-stemmed fruit trees, and thoroughfares rich in herbaceous plants that are cut in rotation. In addition, conservation measures for specific species can be implemented, for instance by creating overwintering sites for insects, spiders, small mammals and reptiles (with piles of rocks or branches) and by providing opportunities for wild bees and solitary wasps to nest. Nest boxes may be installed for birds. Birds of prey are attracted if perches are erected.

Last but not least, the arrangement of the farm and its buildings offer many opportunities to encourage wildlife.

Optimizing the conditions required by swallows and other bird species as well as bats, unsealing the surfacing on farmyards, creating diverse gardens and tolerating species-rich flora on waste ground and track margins are some examples of how, through conscious development of the farm, its customers can be given an understanding of the concerns of biodynamic farming with regard to the association between nature and agriculture.

The above compilation of possible practical measures is intended to be a list of ideas. In Britain there are commendable publications available from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which are specially for farmers (Andrews & Rebane 1994, www.rspb.org.uk).

3. From conservation to development of nature It is clear that there are plenty of opportunities and approaches in organic farming for conserving and developing nature and landscape. To conclude, I shall return to the questions raised at the end of Section 1 concerning the relationship of people and nature, and the development of this relationship.

In contemporary discussion about the environment, the assumption is often made almost as a fundamental principle, that agriculture, above all the human being, not only uses nature but takes advantage of it, over-uses it, consumes it, and that nature would be a lot better off without human beings. The aforementioned approaches to active conservation, to caring for nature and cultural landscape, already refute this assumption, and there are very many examples in organic farming of how farmers look after and develop their landscape in such a way that wildlife becomes more diverse and is enriched through human activity. And from a global and historical perspective this contradicts the dogma that human beings are a disruptive factor in evolution. Even the way that the surviving indigenous peoples who live close to nature deal with animals, plants or minerals – obviously connected with a consciousness of what is understood by 'nature' that

differs greatly from ours in the so-called civilized world – can hardly be classified as destructive. When they 'take out' animals and plants, such peoples, who live in harmony with nature, give thanks to its creatures for their own food.

However, mythology and the archaeological discoveries from various cultures that ended long ago indicate that apart from 'using up' nature for the purposes of survival, there existed other motives and intentions in dealing with nature, and that at times people went beyond the partnership model of a mere awareness and respect for nature to actively caring for and developing it. It is hard for us now to imagine the consciousness that gave rise to this, residues of which may still be found amongst certain indigenous peoples.

We cannot return to such earlier states of consciousness, but, unlike in earlier times, it is now possible for us to make the maintenance and development of nature our personal concern out of free choice. Human consciousness has developed in such a way that we come face to face with nature as something separate from us. It has become part of the world of objects, something to manage. A first step in reconnecting with nature, only this time out of free and self-aware resolve, is practical study of it. Getting to know nature by actual observation can lead to a new relationship with it, to a personal involvement and a new recognition of its value. Thus, understood this way, making human beings the very foundation, means making the foundation the human being who endeavours to develop nature consciously, who takes seriously the fact that human beings have nature to thank for the possibility of their evolution on the earth, and now have the possibility of 'paying it back', as Rudolf Steiner put it (Steiner 1923). But paying back means more than mere conservation or protection. It means 'developing'.

For many years the pioneer work of the 'Landscape Weeks' at the Science Section of the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland have contributed to the development of a new approach to nature which is appropriate for our time. Apart from Switzerland, these practical study weeks instituted by Jochen Bockemühl have so far taken place at various venues in Germany, Hungary, Russia, Norway, France and Scotland. Each one involves observation exercises on the landscape and its development in order to create new connections or contexts through practical study. They are carried out at the locality together with the people and working groups who are concerned with nature and its development. This year the landscape study will focus on an estate in the Netherlands. Information for participants can be found at the web site: www.petrarca.info.

ANDREWS, J. & REBANE, M. (1994): Farming & Wildlife – A Practical Management Handbook. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Sandy, Beds., 360 pp.

BEISMANN, M. (1995): Ökologische Landschaftsentwicklung durch Landwirtschaft. Lebendige Erde 2: 89-97, Darmstadt.

FUCHS, N. (1997): Landschaft als Ausdruck von Betriebsindividualität.

Lebendige Erde 1: 3-12, Darmstadt.

VAN ELSEN, T. (2000): Naturentwicklung – Zukunftsaufgabe der Landwirtschaft? In: PEDROLI, B. (ed.): Landscape – Our Home. Essays on the Culture of the European Landscape as a Task. Zeist (NL)/ Stuttgart: 65-73.

VAN ELSEN, T. (2001): Landschaft und Lebensräume durch Landwirtschaft entwickeln. Lebendige Erde 2: 38-41, Darmstadt.

VAN ELSEN, T. (ed.) (2005a): Einzelbetriebliche Naturschutzberatung – ein Erfolgsrezept für mehr Naturschutz in der Landwirtschaft. Beiträge zur Tagung vom 6.-8. Oktober 2005 in Witzenhausen. FiBL Deutschland e.V., 200 pp., Witzenhausen.

VAN ELSEN, T. (2005b): Nature Conservation Advisory Service for Farmers - A New Approach to Integrate Nature Conservation on Farm Level. In: KORN, H., SCHLIEP, R., EPPLE, C. (eds.) (2005): Report on the International Workshop 'Opportunities of EU Agricultural Policy Instruments for Biodiversity Conservation and Integrated Rural Development in Protected Areas of the New Member States'. BfN-Skripten 153: 65-69, Bonn.

VAN ELSEN, T. (2005c): Practical Approaches on Organic Farms in Germany to integrate Aims and Objectives of Nature Conservation and Landscape Development. In: KÖPKE, U., NIGGLI, U., NEUHOFF, D., CORNISH, P., LOCKERETZ, W., WILLER, H. (eds): Researching Sustainable Systems. Proceedings First Scientif. Conf. of ISOFAR: 472475, Adelaide.

VAN ELSEN, T., GODT, J., HESS, J. (2000): Landschaftsentwicklung durch Umstellung auf Ökologischen Landbau. Agrarspectrum 31: Entwicklung nachhaltiger Landnutzungssysteme in Agrarlandschaften: 222-230, Frankfurt.

STEINER, R. (1923): Lebendiges Naturerkennen, Intellektueller Sündenfall und spirituelle Sündenerhebung. (GA 220) 2. Aufl. 1982, Dornach, 212 S. VEREIJKEN, H., VAN GELDER, T., BAARS, T. (1997). Nature and landscape development on organic farms. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 63: 201-220.

Contact details Dr. Thomas van Elsen, FiBL Deutschland e.V. (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) Nordbahnhofstr. 1a, D-37213 Witzenhausen, Germany phone: +49 (0)5542 981655, fax: +49 (0)5542 981568, E-mail: Thomas.vanElsen@fibl.org www.fibl.org/english/fibl/team/van-elsen-thomas.php www.petrarca.info/englisch/index.html www.naturschutzberatung.info/ (in German) www.uni-kassel.de/Frankenhausen/ (in German)

Further information Local wildlife trusts listed at: http://www.wildlifetrusts.org Farm Welfare Advisory Group: http://www.fwag.org.uk/ Farmcare, a branch of The Cooperative Group, runs the Silver Lapwing Awards and provides on-farm environmental management advice: http://www.co-opfarmcare.com/ Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: http://www.rspb.org.uk

References

Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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THE BERAS PROJECT This was an EU funded project onmental impact of agriculture project that set out to look at the envir environmental agriculture on the Baltic Sea. It was coordinated coordinated by

by Ar tur Granstedt, PhD, PhD, head of The Biodynamic Research Research Institute in Jarna, Sweden.

Sweden. Summarised below below are are the main findings.

1. The main reason for the increased load of nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture to the Baltic Sea is the specialization of agriculture with its separation of crop and animal production. This restructuring of the agriculture sector took place through out the Scandinavian countries after World War II and has resulted in farms with a high density of animals and great surpluses of plant nutrients, particularly in certain regions in Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

2. A specialization of agriculture in Poland and the Baltic states corresponding to the changes in Sweden, Finland and Denmark would lead to an increase of nitrogen pollution to the Baltic Sea by more than 50 percent .

3. Agriculture based on the principles of ecological recycling would, according to the results in the BERAS project, lead to a decrease in the nitrogen leaching by half as well as a significant reduction in the loss of phosphorus.

4. Nitrogen losses would diminish more in the countries that today have an intensive agriculture than in the Baltic countries and Poland where today there is a more extensive form of agriculture. In Sweden the potential for diminishing nitrogen losses are calculated to be between 70 - 75%.

5. The total output of animal and crop products would not have to decrease with such an agriculture reform in the Baltic Sea Basin, if the production level on the documented ecological recycling farms in Sweden is taken as standard.

6. The proportion of leys in a future ecological recycling agriculture would increase in areas where there is now much one-sided grain production. Leys with both clover and grass would have to be produced on all farms. This would increase the chances of diminishing plant nutrients’ leaching, building up and protecting the humus content in soil and promoting biological diversity.

7. Increased ley production would result in the reallocation of meat production. Production of meat from non ruminant animal (poultry, pigs) would decrease by half, while beef production would have to increase correspondingly assuming today’s level of meat consumption.

8. Local production, processing and distribution of food products from ecological recycling agriculture can diminish primary energy consumption and green house gas emissions compared to the current conventional food system. According to a scenario based on studies of the ecological local food chain in Järna (Sweden) and the average consumer in Sweden, the per capita consumption of primary energy would decrease by 40% and the production of green house gases would decrease by 20 % in the food chain.

9. A more vegetarian food consumption decreased energy consumption by 60% and green house gas emissions by 40 documented by 15 families in Järna (75% less meat and 100% more vegetables) compared to the conventional food consumption patterns. The area required for food production would be reduced by 30% compared to today’s

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in-country production area and by 50% if the area used for production of imported fodder is also included. The per capita nitrogen surplus in Sweden would be reduced by 65% in this more vegetarian scenario when compared to today’s conventional food consumption.

10. An ecological and locally oriented food chain leads to freedom from chemical pesticides, greater diversity in the production and more grazing-based animal husbandry. All of this promotes biodiversity in the farm landscape.

Agriculture based on the integration of animal and crop production and on-farm self sufficiency in fodder production would prevent the disintegration of the agricultural landscape in parts of the Baltic Sea basin where (like in Poland) the agricultural landscape is still characterized by a high degree of diversity. In the parts of the Baltic States where large-scale agriculture production from Soviet times has collapsed and in the industrialized and grain dominated areas in Sweden, Finland and Denmark, introduction of such agriculture could lead to a restoration of the agricultural landscape.

11. Economic studies at the farm level show higher production costs when environmental costs are included (internalized) in the production costs. This includes, among other things, the restrictions on using fodder concentrates.

There is a 12% lower production per cow without soy protein. Also limiting the number of animals to the farms own fodder-producing capacity has economic consequences. In the Järna study the cost for milk production was 19% higher compared to conventional agriculture. The food expenditure for the 15 Järna households with mainly ecological and to a great extent locally produced food was on average 25% higher.

However, there was a great variation depending on the food profile. Conventionally produced food does not include the environmental costs. They are instead pushed towards the future or to other parts of the world.

12. Practical examples of ecological recycling agriculture, local food processing, cooperation with schools, ecological tourism and the development of local markets have been documented in the eight countries of the project. These studies show how private initiatives, raised awareness of the significance of the food chain for the environment and a more lively cooperation between people can contribute to a more ecologically, economically and sociologically sustainable society. Such a society provides more job opportunities in the countryside and strengthens the local rural economy. This is expected to be of great importance for saving and further developing a vibrant rural culture and improving the quality of life in the Baltic Sea region.

Establishing such agriculture can have such positive effects both within the more impoverished rural areas in the new EU member countries as well as in the depopulated rural areas in countries with a more industrialized and specialized agriculture.

This news is also of interest to biodynamic farmers and consumers in the UK. Full reports can be found on their website: http://www.jdb.se/beras/

BIODYNAMICS AND THE FOREST ENVIRONMENT

by Nick Raeside

I

When we look out from the farm into the wider landscape what comes to mind? A place to walk, cycle get away from it all, that beautiful view, the wilderness experience, perhaps also the home of wildlife, the protection of endangered ‘priority’ species, conservation. Our landscape is a production area for farmers, gardeners and foresters, and yet it is also a place for recreation, a home for wildlife and a chance to experience nature. Beauty and conservation of biodiversity are not inevitable by-products of organic/biodynamic farming methods because modern practices can involve intensification and specialisation.

They can only be preserved and developed by shared knowledge, communal decisions and means. Government grants and regulations attempt to overcome this shortfall but it requires more than that - a change in attitude towards Nature. This needs advice and above all a participatory approach.

Natural forest and landscape also do not assume optimal diversity, beauty, vigour and health. In fact some long term observations of non intervention woodland have shown that with only rare natural disturbance biological and structural diversity can actually decrease. I sometimes get the feeling from the conservation movement that people are an encumbrance, irrelevant to the needs of Nature and should be excluded or diverted from important areas.

Modern farming practice with emphasis on economies of scale, mechanization and efficiency of transport to long distance supermarkets somehow also downgrade our place in the environment. What then happens if we leave Nature entirely to her own devices? Will she be able to overcome the on going reproductive pressures from introduced species like the grey squirrel, mink, rhododendron and other pressures like pollution of earth, air and water and global warming?

The Romans had a name for the uncultivated, wild land outside the city walls or centres of habitation. They called it ‘forest’ and yet today the term has other connotations of

plantations, pulpwood, mechanised tree harvesters all coined in the phrase the forest industry. So even though forestry includes intervention operations which cause disturbance right through from cultivation and planting to felling and extraction, forest or woodland has always had a sister role in conservation, non intervention, protection.

Forest protects natural soil fertility and structure, clean water and air quality. It guards against erosion, extreme climate, excessive noise and disturbing visual elements in the landscape. Forest also provides us with a link to the past. In former times most of Europe was covered by forest, which supported the majority of native plants and animals. Indeed if one stands in a British farm field and contemplates the vegetation thousands of years past the chances are that it was forest. In partly forested areas, the remaining forest must fulfill the role, which the larger forest area once performed.

Consider for a moment some huge internationally traded agricultural commodities: rubber, coffee, chocolate and chickens they all have forest origins yet are produced in an agricultural environment. In the UK we have numerous food articles which also have forest origins from mushrooms and hazel nuts to raspberries and venison.

When we think of biodynamics what comes to mind?

Healthy food, preparations, Demeter certification, planting calendar; and the central purpose seems to do with nutrition. Yet given that most farmland and some important agricultural products have their origin in forest and that Steiner attributes considerable space to forest and trees in the Agriculture course – is there a role for biodynamics in the forest and wider landscape?

Are there BD principals we can apply to the forest and periphery of our farming and gardening activities?

I will discuss below based on the Agriculture Course, holistic, cosmic, economic, restorative and ecological principles and the farm organism.

Biodynamics has a holistic world-view. It combines a knowledge of the influence of planetary rhythms, imperceptible Nature beings and formative forces on the growth of plants and animals with practical physical day to day activities including working with machines and (health bringing) technologies. Steiner points out that ‘the task of spiritual science is to observe the macrocosmic, the wide circumference of Nature’s workings and know how to penetrate into them.’ Here we may add Goethe's principal 'nothing happens in living Nature that is not in relation to the whole'. Actions at the scale of a single tree will affect the stand, the whole forest and the whole landscape organism.

There is a Cosmic Principle: - Everything that happens on Earth especially to plants is a reflection of what happens in the Cosmos. Plants are a kind of sense organ – sensitive to all that is revealed to the earth out of the cosmos.

Coordinating these various cosmic rhythms with our farming activities can also be applied to hedgerows, trees and forest only the rhythms can involve decades as with Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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photographs by Richard Swann

’m sure we can all recall a special walk perhaps in the early morning or at dusk seeing a timid wild animal hearing a nightjar or an owl and having a sense of wonder at living things which have their own independence. A deer barks at our interruption and hurtles off straight over a fence which for the farm herd is a boundary to their world. The people centred farm with the forest at the periphery seems to create a number of polarities, cultivated fields and uncultivated meadows and woodland, plants bred for food production and native flora, domesticated animals and wildlife. For me the deer stands as a symbol of the wild forest. They have an intense nerve / sense communication with the surrounding world and from their antlers ‘certain streams are carried outward discharging to the periphery’. The cow on the other hand stands as representative of the people centred farm, with its horns shut off from the outer, sending into it the astral ethereal formative powers which penetrate right into the digestive organism giving us our precious manure.

the outer planets as well as the seasons. Tree seed (mast) years do not have obvious rhythms and yet affect the success of natural regeneration. Can we enhance our astronomy to predict these events? Observations from decades of research into the effect of sowing tree seed during various outer planet oppositions shows how much tree form, branching habit even leaf form can be affected by these rhythms. Add to this the moon rhythms which affect the watery parts in leaf flush, growth of fine root hairs and sap flow and we soon realize how such things as planting success, tree fruit and wood quality can be enhanced with a little coordination. Thus if the outer planet influences work upwards from the centre of the earth do we really wish to germinate our trees in plastic pots isolated above the ground? Also can cosmic knowledge help us understand the long term effects of artificially isolating seed, sperm and plants from warmth processes as in seed freezing and tree cold stores to extend the planting season?

There are Economic Principles: - Practical knowledge, experience and social renewal should primarily direct Agriculture rather than financial considerations.

Increasingly farmers and gardeners are actively involving the community in helping to ensure continued care for the land, whether through box schemes, community trust ownership or school visits etc. There is not much to prevent CSA practices being adapted to participatory forestry: communal ownership, distribution of processed woodland products via BD farms (firewood, sawn timber, fencing materials, mushrooms, venison). The main hurdle would be to formulate an optimal sustainable harvest from diverse species and growth rates, but there are trained foresters about.

There are Restorative/Healing Principles: - Production from the land results in forces being taken away from both earth and air and can be restored by vitalizing organic matter so that it is able to enliven the earth. This can be applied to the forest by appropriate application of the preparations: Spray preparations to regeneration areas; manure concentrate preparation to woody compost heaps for humus forming; compost preparations to high carbon low temperature mycorrhiza forming compost heaps for tree propagation; tree bark paste and root dip made with manure, clay and horn manure preparation and afternoon use of horn silica preparation to aid bud formation prior to transplanting. When the earth is treated this way, the plants become more sensitive to their environment and responsive to cosmic rhythms.

There are Ecological Principles: - biodynamics has a super ecological orientation. The first principle of ecology is that each living organism has an ongoing and continual relationship with every other element that makes up its environment. Steiner expands this principal to include Man, the cosmos and supersensible beings and forces. ‘In Nature and the universe all things are in mutual interaction’, yet science generally studies phenomena in isolation. ‘We need to observe Nature’s intimate (supersensible) relations as well as the underlying facts and conditions’. In addition to the courser ecological relationships of producers and consumers in the food web there are also finer relationships or kinships between various animals and various plants which have arisen in evolution and harmful processes occur when these are disturbed or broken:

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Between the bird world and coniferous forests otherwise birds can become harmful Between mammals and shrubs/ bushes – which allow mammals to regulate their fodder Between the fungi and the lower animal world (bacteria/parasites). Parasites will develop wherever the fungal nature of undisturbed woodland and especially meadows, becomes scattered or dispersed.

Mycorrhiza have a communication role in the forest community rather like our nervous system they form links between trees and other plants and the earth. Research has shown a decrease in mycorrhiza following cultivation, compaction, and application of herbicide or artificial fertilizer. It is thus a false economy to cultivate as much as we can because the land will compensate with problems elsewhere.

To understand these finer relationships we need to explore the spatial working of the ethereal or sun-like forces. And for this we need to develop, amongst other things, the idea of anti-space in addition to the physical space of normal consciousness. The bud of a plant has an intimate relation to the centre of the sun a huge distance away because distance in the realm of the etheric has no meaning. In their book “Fundamentals of Therapy” Rudolf Steiner and Dr. Ita Wegman describe how life and lifeless phenomena have different orientations. Lifeless phenomena are subject to forces radiating outward from a relative centre to the periphery. Life phenomena are different. ‘Whenever a substance or process unfolds within forms of life it must cease to be a mere portion of the earth and we can conceive it to be withdrawing from forces that ray outward from the centre of the earth and subjecting itself to forces that radiate inward as planes and do not have a centre but a periphery’. In a lecture on karmic relationships (1924 Vol. 2), Steiner explains that the etheric world reaches up into the firmament, the blue sky and at the boundary the stars appear through which forces of spiritual beings enter the world of appearances. These are astral forces that stream in by way of the portals of the stars and they stimulate the ethers and create from them the formative forces. These formative forces penetrate into the elements and create in them substance. The elemental beings bring the ether to the plants as they spread and grow out into spatial manifestation. In every plant the root strives to let go of the ether while that which grows upwards tends to draw in the astral more densely. All plants are surrounded by the astral but trees, being tall, are gatherers of rich astral substance while the cambium makes the ethericity poorer within the tree and the surrounding soil rather more mineralized. The animal kingdom in their evolution have interiorized the astral forces. Instead of growing outwards, the animal organism grows in on itself and forms more and more infoldings during embryo genesis which give rise to the wonderfully organised higher bodies of the higher animals.

The astral forces push inwards creating inner spaces, what in the plant is outside becomes manifest in the animal in movement and sensation. The astral does not exist in isolation, it needs to be ensouled. The astrality which touches the blossom of the plant appears in an individualized form in the animal. One can easily imagine butterfly and blossom, bird and tree evolving at the same stages in evolution.

Biodynamics adds a new dimension to ecology – it deepens and enlivens the intimate relationship between human consciousness, wisdom and Nature. Cooperation is

where human or other beings can work in common with commonly agreed goals and methods, instead of working separately in competition. In his book ‘Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution’ 1902 (written partly as a response to Darwinism), Peter Kropotkin drew on his experiences of cooperation among the animals and concluded that cooperation and mutual aid are as important in the evolution of species as competition and mutual strife, if not more important. Conservation is not only the domain of environmental sciences, it requires a social cooperation and education so that people with different skills and backgrounds can work together: the gardeners, farmers and foresters unique experience managing the land, the environmentalists who know the needs of priority species and habitats, farm customers and friends and the informed public who give practical help to support the these stakeholders to improve the landscape for all.

Biodynamics can teach us to commune with nature in conscious ways: Through carefully timing our work so that the rhythms of the cosmos and plant world can harmonize.

By adapting our soul and with imaginative consciousness, we can commune with the elementals who need our cooperation for their important work in Nature.

Through making and applying the preparations which enable healthy life processes where needed.

Through developing an inner image of the land in our care over many years we can with perseverance create an organ of perception for the soul of the land organism which is related to the group soul of the animals and plants.

By being aware of the ethericity and astrality in the landscape and their effect on the form of vegetation that we manage.

Forests, orchards, shrubs are regulators of the right growth and development of plants over the earth’s surface. They guide the astrality in the right way just as certain forces guide the blood in our body.

If vegetation is too stunted we should increase the woody areas whereas if plants tend to be rampant with insufficient seed formation then we should make clearings in the forest.

There is the principle of the farm organism:- ‘A farm is true to its essential nature if conceived as a self-contained individuality’. Whatever you need for agricultural

production should ideally come from the farm itself. If we are obliged to buy in fencing or construction timbers is this not an incentive then to plant and utilize naturally durable timbers around the farm? At the heart of biodynamics is the ideal of the farm as a self-contained individuality, providing its own seeds, fertility and feed for animals and a range of environments from ponds and hedges to orchards, woods and pasture. The art is to develop and to provide a harmonious and sustainable balance for each land holding. Silviculture is the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis. Like farming it is affected by history, regional and owner interest and site conditions.

A mixed species forest, by its very nature, will usually provide greater stimulus to regeneration and structural diversity in terms of age usually increases biodiversity.

Agroforestry and farm ponds can add to the relationship between farm and forest from an ecological principle that when two ecospheres overlap this can allow species from both spheres to exist thus increasing biodiversity. Public pressure is bringing changes to forested landscapes from structured stands of fuelwood and timber to landscapes trying to enhance aesthetics, habitats and biological diversity. Landscape forestry provides concepts and methods for shifting management from traditional to landscape forestry.

Our rapidly developing world is in urgent need of wisdom, meaning and communion with Nature.

Man is not part of Nature and yet Nature is not whole without Man. We are necessary for the redemption of Nature but that is a whole subject in itself. In the past Man has had an intimate relationship to Nature through instinctive wisdom, indeed the language of numerous primitive peoples like the forest Indians of the Amazon have no word for ‘Nature’. Increasingly Mankind is obliged to take responsibility for the earth. This will require both knowledge of the supersensible aspects of Nature but also the admittance that we cannot do it alone and have to cooperate. © Nick Raeside May 2006

Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

15

FARM AUDITING FOR SUSTAINABILITY

by Mark Measures

Abstract Policy makers have now established sustainability as the new aim for UK farming. The development of the Farm Audit for Sustainability involved identifying the objectives of sustainable farming, based on the Principles of organic farming as set out by the International Federation of Organic Farming Movements (IFOAM) and establishment of indicators to assess the effectiveness of individual farms in meeting these objectives. On-farm use of the Farm Audit demonstrated that the tool was able to provide a comprehensive assessment of sustainability of the farming system and that it is an information and advisory tool which is potentially useful in benchmarking and development of the farming operation.

Introduction Government Policy in the UK has commenced a programme of change for British farming towards what is loosely described as “sustainable farming�, one which not only ensures that the production of food is a commercially viable business but also one which delivers across a broad range of public goods and services. This policy is being driven by changes in EU policy and support and is being vigorously encouraged through the Report of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food which has been largely adopted by DEFRA. The imminent application of new support measures following the Mid Term Review will more or less facilitate aspects of this process of change on the farm. A clear understanding of the real, practical meaning of sustainable farming on the

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ground is however lacking, although there have been efforts to identify the desirable outcomes on a national scale (MAFF, Towards Sustainable Agriculture - A Pilot Set of Indictors, 2000).

Organic farming is the only system of agriculture which has a track record of setting a clear aim of sustainable farming, (IFOAM Standards 2000), one which meets societies’ wider objectives for farming including: human health and welfare, environmental care, resource conservation and animal welfare in what is self evidently a finite world. It achieves this through the operation of farming practices that are characterised by an emphasis on biological systems and management techniques, rather than the use of inputs which characterise conventional farming.

The Organic Advisory Service (Elm Farm Research Centre) has set up a new initiative, the Organic Systems Development Programme (OSDP), which is seeking to help farmers develop their farm management in order to better meet the overall objectives of organic farming. The OSDP, headed by Mark Measures, is working with a group of nine mixed, well established organic farms which are committed to going beyond the absolute minimum set by organic standards to better address the broader needs of society in the way in which they produce food and to progressively develop more sustainable systems.

Methods The literature on the use of sustainability indicators was reviewed (Bell and Morse) and existing procedures for

monitoring assessed (Wackernagel and Rees 1996; Haas et al. 2000; LEAF Audit 2001; Rigby et al. 2001; Leach and Roberts 2002). In the light of this, a new auditing system was formulated in order to meet the needs of the farmers involved, one which assessed their achievements, through measurement as far possible and which could be applied quickly and with the involvement of a farm adviser to provide independent assessment.

Development of the Farm Audit involved a meeting with Elm Farm Research Centre staff in order to consider how the work related to their research programme, which had already identified key issues relating to sustainability and developed techniques to address these issues. This was followed by a meeting with the farmer members of the OSDP to assess the relevance of the approach and to engage their input. The Farm Audit was conducted on five farms during routine advisory visits. During the following year the Farm Audit was used as part of on-farm group meetings to highlight the performance of the host farm and to refine the procedures.

Creation of the Farm Audit required the development of an audit procedure and a spreadsheet to calculate farmgate energy and nutrient balances, preparation of a farm record sheet and collation of standard data for comparative purposes. The latter is still in the process of compilation as more farms are audited.

The Farm Audit identifies all the key objectives of sustainable farming, it does this by focusing on the key criteria or objectives set out by the IFOAM Standards and then aims to select indicators for each criterion which can be measured, or some meaningful assessment made and graded accordingly, of the degree to which the farm is sustainable. It does not therefore endeavour to asses every component of every criterion, such an approach risks being excessively time consuming, neither does it focus on monitoring activities (much of this is already being undertaken by the organic certification procedures) but instead attempts to monitor the outcome of the farming system and practices.

Audit Procedure The Auditing procedure in the diagram opposite was used on all farms.

Auditing in Practice The application of the Farm Audit was relatively straightforward, requiring between one and two hours to conduct, plus a variable amount of time by the farmer to access the information which was generally readily available. The use of benchmarking for factors other than those directly related to financial performance is unfamiliar to most farmers, however the Farm Audit was effective in highlighting those areas in which a farm was particularly effective. This was very encouraging for the farmer concerned, for example one farmer achieved a veterinary cost of 20% of the national average which was rewarding and indicated that there were farm practises from which others could learn. It also highlighted some shortcomings, which was of real help in focusing the attention of the farm owners, manager and adviser. The Farm Audit helps prioritise areas for development.

The use of the energy and nutrient budgeting tool is in its infancy as the facility was not available at the start of the programme, however for the first time it is providing farmers with some indication of how efficient they are.

Understanding their energy efficiency and improving it is

something which this group of farmers is keenly interested in. Early indications are that they are already relatively efficient due to their non-use of nitrogen fertilisers but there is clearly great scope for improvement and this information will begin to provide them with data by which to measure there progress.

An important outcome of the work has been to focus farmers’ attention on the impact of their day-to-day practices on sustainability, it has also identified major shortcomings in information available to farmers and provides a useful means of identifying research needs.

Conclusions The Farm Audit is a practical advisory tool that has been tested in the field and proved itself to be an effective way in which farmers can be supported in achieving change towards a more sustainable farming system.

Acknowledgements Input to the development of the Farm Audit by Abbey Home Farm, Bagthorpe Farm, Commonwork Organic Farm, Duchy Home Farm, Lower Pertwood Farm, Luddesdown Organic Farm, Manor Farm Godmanstone, Sheepdrove Organic Farm and Woodlands Farm, staff from Elm Farm Research Centre and students of the Sustainable Development Advocacy Programme (Holme Lacy College PGC) is gratefully acknowledged.

References Bell, S. and Morse, S. (1990) Sustainability Indicators Measuring the Immeasurable?, Earthscan Publications Ltd. Haas, G., Wetterich, F., Kopke, U. (2000) Life cycle assessment of intensive, extensified and organic grassland farms in southern Germany. Proceedings 13th IFOAM Conference p157.

IFOAM Basic Standards for Organic Production and Processing (2000).

Leach, K.A., Roberts, D.J. (2002) Assessment and Improvement of the Efficiency of Nitrogen Use in Clover Based and Fertilizer Based Dairy Systems.

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Benchmarking using Farm Gate Balances. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture, 2002, Vol. 20 pp 143-155.

LEAF (2001) The LEAF Audit.

MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food). (2000) Towards Sustainable Agriculture – A Pilot Set of Indicators.

Rigby, D., Woodhouse, P., Young, T., Burton, M. (2001) Constructing a farm level indicator of sustainable agricultural practice. Ecological Economics 39 pp 463478.

Wackernagel, M. and Rees, W. (1996) Our Ecological Footprint – reducing Human Impact on the Earth, New Society Publishers.

Contact Elm Farm Research Centre, Hamstead Marshall, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 OHR, UK Tel. + 44(0)1588 640118 mark.ecom@btinternet.com

Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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WHAT HAPPENED WHEN BIODYNAMIC FARMING MET PERMACULTURE DESIGN?

by Jan Martin Bang ornach in February, short days, cold weather and thick fog the whole time. It was my first time there, and I had been assured it was very pretty.

I didn’t see a thing, just a vague suggestion of a village below us, and some hills above. Still, all things have their positive sides, so for me there were no distractions, no temptations to go for walks to admire the scenery. I was happy to stay within the Goetheanum and concentrate on talking to the other delegates at the International Biodynamic Conference. I had been invited to present a workshop on Permaculture, and see what happens when it meets Biodynamic farming.

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This was not a meeting of equals. Biodynamic farming appeared to me as a mature movement, eighty years of powerful work in the world, with strong links to many other forms of human endeavour. Permaculture came as a youth, barely thirty years old, full of the enthusiasm of a youngster, and with the bravado of a movement which has spread world wide very quickly, and has established itself in many forms of design.

There were nearly five hundred participants at the Conference as a whole, and about thirty in the workshops devoted to an exploration of the meeting between these two ideas. Most were people steeped in Biodynamic farming, while few had any serious background in Permaculture. This may be true of many readers of Star and Furrow also, so it might be advisable to give a short description of what Permaculture consists of.

The idea of a perma-nent agri-culture emerged at the University of Tasmania in the early 1970’s as a response to the global environmental and social crisis. David Holmgren and Bill Mollison were looking for solutions in the design of human support systems, meaning this in the widest sense: food, housing, technology, economics and social support.

Three aspects gave Permaculture a vitality that created a world wide movement within a decade: One was the idea of basing design solutions on “templates” or models taken from patterns observed in natural ecology.

The second was to encourage personal responsibility, emphasising that each one of us is responsible for the global situation, and each one of us needs to do something about it.

The third was an emphasis on action, not just preaching, but to get out and actually create change by oneself.

The development of a standard curriculum for a Permaculture Design Course helped the idea to spread world wide, with a network of teachers, emerging associations in many countries, and a system of accepted and qualified designers. Within a quarter of a century there was a global network which could point to a wide spectrum of successful projects in virtually all climatic and social environments.

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Permaculture had emerged as a tool which could help solve the world crisis.

Back in Dornach the bad weather kept everyone indoors, except for the committed smokers, who gathered in tight clumps just outside the main doors, huddling against the grey fog blowing in tattered streams. So I had plenty of opportunities to drink endless cups of coffee, freshening up old friendships with people I recognised, and making new ones with people I met in the workshops.

For me, the conference was an opportunity to understand Biodynamic farming. As a Camphill co-worker, I am surrounded by a biodynamic farm and vegetable gardens, but my everyday work in the village does not take me regularly to those workshops. As I talked to people, listened to keynote lectures, and participated in various workshops, a new understanding of Biodynamic farming emerged within me. There were two aspects of Biodynamic farming which impressed me deeply: One was the view of the farm as a whole organism, this was an area which I felt that Permaculture, with its clear design tools, could both contribute to, and learn from.

The other was the human element, the farmer as a person who was in a process of personal spiritual development, using agriculture as a method of self improvement. This gave Biodynamic farming a spiritual, cultural and social dimension. It is much more than just a better way to grow carrots.

Biodynamic farming is a balanced form of agriculture, taking into account cosmic aspects, natural rhythms and remedies, trace elements, and the spirit of the place. It is a radical, cutting edge farming system, harmonising spirit and matter. It is one of the established forms of organic farming in the modern world, dealing with living processes in animals and plants to produce living food to promote vitality and health in the broadest sense.

The reason I was there was to create an interface between two thought systems, both of which were active in the physical world. Where do Permaculture and Biodynamic farming meet? Where is the dialog? These were the questions that came up over those endless cups of coffee.

What can Biodynamic farming learn from Permaculture? It began to emerge in our discussions that Permaculture has incorporated many practical ideas: how to save on labour, how to reduce fuel consumption, how to cut down on weeding. Permaculture is very aware of the need for common sense in costs and yields, and encourages more efficient water and nutrient cycles. One of its main contributions is the conscious application of smart ecological connections.

Of course, the next question had to be the reverse of the last one: what can Permaculture learn from Biodynamic farming? One of the main strengths of Biodynamic farming

is its spiritual and philosophical background, its firm foundation in Goethian science, and Anthroposophy. In its connections between spirit and earth it opens up broad new vistas for a deeper understanding of how our physical world really functions, and gives a solid foundation for future development.

In our discussions we came to see that there were two clear aspects where we could encourage some cooperation. One was to create more direct contact between people. Both Biodynamic farming and Permaculture have extensive networks throughout the world, and it would be good to encourage individuals to network between the two.

Volunteers from the Permaculture network could work on Biodynamic farms, and likewise Biodynamic farmers could attend Permaculture gatherings.

The other recommendation had to do with the foundation courses that are used as introductions. We agreed that it would be good if the Permaculture Design Course contain an explanation about Biodynamic farming, and likewise, that Biodynamic foundation courses contain an introduction to Permaculture.

In any comparison between Biodynamic farming and Permaculture it must be borne in mind that we are not comparing like to like. Permaculture is a design system applicable to anything. Permaculture is just as applicable to an architectural conference, or a discussion on economics. Because of this, we should really have referred to “the agricultural application of Permaculture” throughout the conference and throughout this article. With Biodynamics, it is Anthroposophy which is the system, and Biodynamic farming is just one application of Anthroposophy, this time specifically in the area of agriculture.

The theme of this year’s conference at Dornach was “Openness and Identity”, and it is only by having a clearly understood identity that one can be open enough to enter into a dialog with different ideas without either feeling threatened, or feeling the need to play the missionary. In view of the current world situation, with climate change, social dislocation and global conflicts over resources, it is vital that we should be seeking partners with whom we can work together to create positive change. Neither of us was seeking to get married, but I felt a strong desire for neighbourly co-operation.

Pictures from Ecovillages by the author above: Israeli cob building below: Cob building

In summing up during the last plenum gathering, I suggested that Permaculture was a smart system, but not always wise, and that Biodynamic farming was full of wisdom, but not always so smart! We have many things we might learn from each other, and it is my hope that a closer co-operation will strengthen each of us.

Jan Martin Bang is a Permaculture teacher with extensive experience in the Middle East, now living at Camphill Solborg in Norway, where he has domestic and administrative responsibilities. He is also editor of “Landsbyliv” (Village Life), the Norwegian Camphill magazine. He is currently secretary of the Norwegian Permaculture Association, and is also active within the Norwegian Ecovillage Trust. He has written a book on Permaculture Ecovillage Design published by Floris Books in 2005, called “Ecovillages – a practical guide to sustainable communities”.

Jan can be contacted at: jmbang@start.no Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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SEKEM

by Dr Ibrahim Aboulish reviewed by Richard Swann his is the story not only of Sekem Community in Egypt but also an autobiography of Dr Ibrahim Aboulish its founder. The book traces the story of Dr Aboulish from his earliest days in Egypt through to the establishing of the Sekem Community in the Desert. He graphically describes how they transformed a piece of desert wasteland into a thriving garden. The book describes how the community was slowly built up over many years starting with the laying of roads, planting trees and establishing the ever so vital water supply.

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Sekem is a gem in the desert of Egypt, not only because of the outer structure that has been created with biodynamic farms, schools and factories but also because of the social way this has been achieved and continues to be maintained. Festivals are celebrated and everyone is involved in the running of the place. One of the most striking pictures in the book is of the whole community standing in a large morning circle. What better image of hope could be displayed from the Middle East which usually only send us images of conflict and strife.

Dr Aboulish was awarded the Right Livelihood Award or “Alternative Nobel Prize” in 2003 for his work in creating business model for the 21st century in which commercial success is integrated with and promotes the social and cultural development of society through the 'economics of love' Sekem is available from Floris Books for £16.99

ECOVILLAGES a practical guide to sustainable communities

by Jan Martin Bang - reviewed by Laurence Dungworth e are all aware of little ways in which we can lessen our impact on the earth and some even manage to take steps to alter their lifestyles for the benefit of the environment.

But what if we want to take a bigger step. Not to opt out of society, but to opt into a mutually supportive community that has a commitment to sustainability as one of its core principles. In this instance we can either seek out a community of our choice or we can create our own.

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Jan Martin Bang’s book, ‘Ecovillages – A practical guide to sustainable communities’, contains inspirations for both of these options. Peppered through the book are illustrated case studies of functioning communities. Their focus ranges from the spiritual to the environmental, with many tangents in between, but they all exhibit some form of sustainability. This can be environmental, which is often the focus in debate around sustainability, but equally important is social sustainability. Without this, people will not be able to maintain the ground gained. And even of course for the many still in existence, economic sustainability.

This is a whole new movement and one in which many things are being learnt. For this reason many of the communities focus on one particular aspect, and are not able to cover every facet. As Bang points out, each of these is a compromise between what is desirable and what actually happens in practice. But it will only be through practicing that we can learn how to do these things. And once we have learnt one thing we can move on to the next element of sustainability.

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This is where the book really shines. Bang is able to share his knowledge, experience and observations and present us with a book that is on the one hand a pleasant and informative read, and on the other can be used as a workbook for a nascent or existing community.

The design section for instance begins with the Social Aspect before covering all the physical factors involved, from energy to economics.

This makes complete sense, because you cannot start talking about things and making decisions until as a group you have agreed how you are going to talk about things and make those decisions.

The whole book is a bit of a revelatory journey, as mirrored in Bang’s personal conversion from the ‘NO!’ protest movement to the ‘YES!’ Activist movement.

There is a lot of positivity in this book, about what has been achieved and what is possible. Its style though tempers it with realism. At the beginning of the book Bang suggest how to use this book and ways in which it can influence and inspire the Ecovillages of today and tomorrow. Yet he also finds space to remark, ‘You can also use this book as a door stop, to prop up a bookshelf or maybe plaster it into your wall as an insulation brick’. If you read this book I am sure you will put it to grander use.

Ecovillages is available from Floris Books for £20.00

HAY IN THE TREE TOPS

Discovering the lost art of making leaf hay

by Bernard Jarman

he landscape with which we are so familiar today, with its fields and meadows, its trees, hedgerows and woodlands, has evolved in the course of hundreds and even thousands of years. It has changed as the climate has changed during the period since the last Ice Age. In more recent times changes have come about largely with the help of human hands. Virtually nothing remains, in Western Europe at least, of the once great forests which extended across the land. Walking through a favourite glade today or scaling a local viewpoint somewhere in England, we may contemplate how things might have looked when people first arrived. The vast forest of largely deciduous trees, broken open here and there by rocky outcrops or recently fallen forest giants, would have contained what we rarely see today, namely massive trees of more than 500 years. This wilderness would have been filled with a great diversity of wild animals, birds, insects and all manner of wild flora. The ecosystem would have been stable, pristine but as yet untamed.

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As mankind gradually settled the land, grazed it with livestock and cultivated crops, the landscape started to change. Forest was cleared and cultivated areas were established. Sometimes this change was carried out in a brutal exploitive way particularly in areas with a strong city culture and when wars were prevalent. In the rural communities where for generations people lived in intimate connection with their land this was different. The so-called peasant culture of Europe, now largely vanished, possessed a deep and rich understanding for all that took place in nature, on the fields and in the forest. To survive they had to work from dawn to dusk and make use of everything the earth could provide. Nothing was wasted.

Livestock and family had to be supplied not only through the summer but also in the winter season of scarcity since there was no chance of popping out to the local store for provisions. Despite this constant struggle to survive, many of these peasant communities had a very full and rich cultural life that was guided first by the ancient divinities of nature and later the early Christian Church. This devotion and spirituality helped build the strong inner fabric of these peoples.

Out of this richness and innate wisdom these people were able to transform, build up and care for a European landscape which, while thoroughly penetrated by human

hands, became an expression of harmony, stability and diversity. It was a wisdom that lived within these peasant folk and which was passed on down through the generations as skill and craftsmanship. It is this craftsmanship and understanding for the cultivated soil, for livestock and for landscape development that I would like to explore further here.

I recently came across a fascinating book written by a travelling researcher who set out to explore the relics of an old and nearly forgotten peasant culture in the alpine landscape of Austria. This book written in German by Michael Machatschek is called "Laubgeschichten" (stories of the leaves) which is as yet untranslated (1). He was particularly interested in observing the interdependence between farmland and forest that was so clearly a feature of life in these peasant communities. In the course of his research he made some fascinating and in some cases surprising discoveries. In many of the villages through which he travelled he came across strangely shaped trees.

Trees which in some bygone time had been subject to regular pruning and shaping. These trees became windows through which he could discover the cultural history of a whole landscape.

Leaf Hay In biodynamic circles the value of leaf hay as a feed supplement has long been recognised. Its practical use however has been limited. This is largely because the collection, drying and storage of leaf hay is very labour intensive. Few farms today have the resources to invest time in this activity despite its undoubted value. There was a time when the harvesting of leaf hay formed an important part of the farming calendar right across Europe. Evidence of this can be found in the ancient crafts of pollarding and coppicing trees. The term pollarding is used to describe the practice of cutting off the young growth from the crowns of mature tree trunks while coppicing involves regularly cutting new growth down to ground level. Many other more local variations to this practice also took place. One for instance was to allow some corner of a field to grow over with scrub trees, mainly alder and sycamore. After about 15 years, the nearly impenetrable thicket was cleared to leave some well spaced single trees whose stems were cleared of all branches. With the dramatic increase in light new bushy growth was encouraged all the way up the stems. In succeeding years this would be cut and used for Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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photograph by Bernard Jarman

Pollarded plane trees in Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona

leaf hay. Newly planted trees for pollarding were placed in sites along field boundaries, at the edge of woodland or as small copses on hill tops and in other odd corners of the farm. They were usually planted out as young trees and gradually trained into their form.

Today pollarding is still widely practiced in urban settings though purely for amenity purposes and sadly often without the degree of care that was once invested by the leaf hay gatherers.

pictures on pp22-23 reproduced with kind permission from “Laubgeschichten� by Michael Machatschek

above: Carrying fallen leaves the traditional way.

St Veit, Salzburg, Austria

In order to maximise leaf production and facilitate the harvesting of leaves young shoots were cut back in a very precise manner. The method varied according to whether the trees grew in rich lowland soil or high up on a stony hillside. It was usual to cut the new growth back to the crown every two years. These strangely shaped crowns sculpted by years of cutting and filled with future buds, were seen as a precious resource and not to be cut into under any circumstances. To do so would leave the crowns open to all kinds of infection. Cutting meant that all new shoots had to be removed from the crown leaving the tree naked and twig less. During the alternate years, leaves were stripped direct from the branches without cutting the wood. By this means an annual harvest of leaves could be obtained without causing too much stress to the tree.

Traditionally leaf hay was gathered from late spring through to the autumn. The timing varied according to the particular climatic and livestock requirements of the region.

The highest quality leaf is produced before the end of July, the richer twig material in September. A too frequent September harvest could result in a weakening of the tree.

The traditional time chosen in the Alps was therefore early in summer. This provided high quality leaf hay, ensured the best regrowth and if cut every two years, allowed the tree to build up its reserves.

There is a long list of native European trees and shrubs which have been used to gain leaf hay including sycamore, oak, alder, poplar and sweet chestnut and for coppicing, hazel, alder, oak, hornbeam, cherry, poplar and several willow species. The most important species however have always been ash and elm. Ash was once considered such a valuable tree for producing leaf hay that it was introduced on farms throughout Europe. The main reasons for this are that its leaves are very palatable, rich in minerals, easily digested and quick growing.

Carefully harvested and dried during the growing season or used fresh, tree leaves were highly valued for their medicinal properties and high mineral content. It was also an extremely good supplementary feed for fattening animals. According to analyses undertaken by Nikolaus Remer (2), leaf hay and woody twigs contain valuable fats, etheric oils, resins and tannic acids. Furthermore the

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leaves of hazel, alder, lime and sycamore have a dry matter content of 2-3% calcium, 0.6-0.8% phosphoric acid and 12.5-18.7% protein as well as a liberal amount of potassium and silica. This is far more than is found in the in the various feed grasses. The different tree species also contain varying combinations of minerals. Birch for instance, in addition to special fats, resins and tannic acids also contains betulin whose effect is to cleanse and stimulate the bladder.

One of the most intractable mineral problems in western Europe today is that of copper deficiency. Without supplements and medicinal treatments it is very difficult to address. A liberal use of leaf hay however could help to solve this problem. Leaves from maple, elder, alder, birch and oak can contain as much as 12mg/Kg and ash up to 18mg/Kg of copper! In the days when leaf hay was widely used, mineral and salt licks were less necessary. Regular intake of twigs, leaves and woody material provided most of the minerals needed.

It is estimated that 1,000 bundles of leaf hay were needed per cow over a 6 month period. A bundle is of similar size to a sheaf of corn. One person should be able to cut an average of 30 bundles of fresh twigs and leaves per day.

With practice this can increase to about 100 bundles per day. If an ash tree is cut once every four years (as happens in parts of southern Austria) an annual yield of between 20 and 25 bundles can be expected. Nutritionally this is the equivalent of about 10 pounds of good meadow hay with the added benefits of a higher mineral content.

Leaf hay can be used for all animal species especially when fattening. For some animals such as pigs, it needs to be ground up and fed as meal. Elm and ash is particularly good for them. Ash leaf hay is also good for fattening cattle and has been a vital ingredient in their feeding rations. The astringent properties of the bark stimulates metabolism and strengthens the functioning of the liver. This in turn reduces the occurrence of worms and other internal parasites. The leaves and fruits of the rowan are particularly valuable for this. Branches of maple, ash, elder, alder, birch and oak are important too for enhancing the take-up and transformation of iron. Birch counteracts sclerosis and hazel enhances fertility while shrubs such as cherry and blackthorn have a rejuvenating and vitalising effect on the organism. For sheep the feeding of leaf hay has been found to provide protection against lung infections especially in wet years or on damp pastures.

Another interesting phenomenon is that only trees which have been managed regularly through pollarding and coppicing are able to provide the high quality material beloved of the livestock. Twigs and branches taken from otherwise unpruned trees and bushes tend to be tough and unappetising. This makes sense since by pruning back the branches, lots of new, fresh and young growth is produced.

This is tender and more easily digestible.

It was not only leaves harvested green from the trees that was used. Fallen leaves too were carefully gathered for feeding livestock. It was often the case that the second crop of leaves from the trees which earlier in the season had provided leaf hay were now gathered in the autumn from the ground after they had fallen. These leaves were of especially high quality. Many other fallen leaves were also gathered and allowed to ferment in a pile usually

undercover. Fermentation involved spraying a pile of leaves lightly with water and allowing it to heat gently. This created a mass of fungal growth which resulted in strongly aromatic and apparently tasty leaves. This fermented material was always eagerly sought after by cattle and other livestock.

Fallen leaves In the days before the widespread use of straw for bedding, it was the practice of the peasant community to gather fallen leaves from field and woodland each autumn and to use them for bedding. The combination of manure and leaves created a well balanced and mineral rich compost for returning to the soil. In contrast to straw which is relatively poor in minerals, the leaves of our broadleaved trees contain many trace elements. It has been suggested that an important cause of trace element deficiencies, is the use of bedding straw taken from highly bred cereal varieties.

Amongst old peasant communities all waste materials were put to good use including fallen leaves. On snow free days they would be collected from field and forest. Leaves from the forest were usually gathered later once they had started to break down. This half broken down material was more absorbent when used for bedding than the fresher

material gathered from open ground.

Special brooms were used to sweep up leaves in the forest. These brushes were specially curved so as to be able to sweep in the most efficient way possible. Unique craftsmanship methods were employed to make these brooms. Thin spruce branches were collected from young trees and tied together through an iron ring which was then attached to a broom handle bent almost to a right angle at the end. The needles were then burnt off over a fire. This caused the resin in the twigs to become soft making them pliable. Thus roasted, the broom was taken to a stream and weighed down with large stones in order to bend the twigs as the resin cooled. The curvature was sometimes also achieved by standing on it until the resin set. These special tools allowed the leaves to be gathered quickly and even sent several metres through the air to a pile. pic. 5 Rakes were never used amongst the trees because this

could damage the fine tree roots immediately below the leaf mulch.

Such damage could then cause heart rot to the trees. Sweeping up of leaves did not do this and was carried out each year somewhere in the neighbouring woods. A period of seven years was left before the same place was swept again. It is strange to think that all over Europe this sweeping of the forest floor was going on. Surely, one would imagine, this activity is robbing the forest of its fertility. above: Fallen leaves were once used as fodder for young cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys and horses Apparently not, it is and later also for bedding suggested that one reason for the decline in forest health over the last 100 years has been the ending of this practice. The accumulating leaf mulch makes the forest soil too rich for the trees. They need to grow slowly. The richer soil appears to increase growth rates and therefore susceptibility to pest and disease attack. It is even suggested that the phenomenon of the "dying forest" might be connected with the discontinuation of this practice. It would seem from Machatschek's research that soil fertility particularly in the mountain regions of Austria, depended on the care and management of woodland as much as it did on the care of soil, livestock and crop land.

There was once an intimate co-dependency between farmland and forest that has gradually been lost with the disappearance of European peasant culture. Trees, bushes, hedges and woodland areas however remain essential to any wise landscape management. They also play a vital role in maintaining livestock health and soil fertility. Is it possible to find a new and mutually supporting relationship between farm and forest? Clearly the old form of codependency is no longer possible but perhaps we can incorporate some of the timeless wisdom of our peasant forbears.

References: (1) Michael Machatschek lives and works in Austria. He is an independent travelling researcher who has written several books about farming, food and forestry. These have included subjects such as wild foods and subsistence living as well as this 550 page book researching former tree management and the use of trees for food, animal fodder and medicine.

"Laubgeschichten Gebrauchswissen einer alten Baumwirtschaft, Speise- und Futterlaubkultur" by Michael Machatschek is published in Vienna by BĂślau Verlag 35.00 Euros ISBN 3-205-99295-4.

One copy is available in the BDAA members’ library for those who read German.

(2) Nikolaus Remer "Laws of Life in Agriculture" Published Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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A NEW CENTRE FOR THE BDAA

by Bernard Jarman hen the BDAA first moved to Stroud and opened its new office, the intention was for it to become not only the main office of the Association but also a visitor centre. We were at the time located at ground level in the Painswick Inn complex in Stroud and therefore potentially accessible to passers by. To really develop in this direction however would have required a lot more input and promotional activity than available resources allowed. After a couple of years we moved upstairs to the room we now occupy.

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This space is less accessible to the public and the idea of being a visitor centre had for the time being to fade into the background. Meanwhile space had to be found for 70 odd years of archive material, the member’s library, exhibition materials and an ever increasing stock of books. Several years later this space is now bursting at the seams. It is a beautiful room but no longer large enough to meet our needs.

Gradually while pondering the next possible steps, a new idea was born. Would not this be the moment to find or even create new premises? Could we create something really special that would express our values while providing the BDAA with a place of its own? With such in mind the following ideas began to take shape.

A Vision for a future Building The building which could be new build or a converted existing building should aim for the highest ecological standards. Our building will stand as a demonstration of the latest ecological building techniques and state of the art renewable energy technology. Internally it will be furnished with high quality locally crafted materials and tastefully and artistically decorated. Its physical existence will express a commitment both to the local economy and to sustainable living.

If it is a building conversion then a two or three story building can be imagined with sufficient space on the ground floor for a shop space and small café, on the first floor a meeting room containing a member’s library, two office spaces and a storage room to house archive material, books etc. On the third floor there could be living space which might be let out to someone willing to keep an eye on the property at times when it may be otherwise unoccupied.

Such a set up would allow small enterprises like a shop, café or flat to provide a revenue stream that could help meet general building maintenance costs. If all the initial capital costs are covered and highly efficient low energy systems are in place then it is possible for such a goal is conceivable.

If a new building were created from scratch then some exciting architectural opportunities would also exist. The building could even become truly carbon neutral.

Facilities The new centre needs to be large enough to provide:

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A shop area for the book stall and a public meeting area with a simple cafe space on the ground floor.

A meeting room large enough to seat up to thirty people.

This would also provide space for the member’s library and a standing exhibition etc.

Office space and an adjoining room of similar size to store books, archive materials, packaging etc.

A dwelling flat possibly on the third floor could provide a useful source of income and help with general security.

An outdoor/half-covered yard area would be desirable.

This would be used to house outdoor demonstration materials and be a place for small practical workshops.

It could also serve for bicycle parking.

As regards site, a town context would more easily fit these intentions than one linked to a farm in the country. This would make it possible for people to drop in from the street and enable it to become a local focus of interest. Being a national organization easy access by public transport and proximity to a railway station is important. Bearing in mind the present constellation of staff, Stroud would seem a sensible location although other options should not be excluded.

If a suitable site were found close to town but with a couple of acres of land attached to it, other additional possibilities could be considered. A particularly appealing idea is that the BDAA might host a new form of allotment garden activity. In this scenario people from the local community would rent a plot in the usual way to grow their own

therefore is I believe to retain the value of being small in size and therefore not be tempted to grow ever larger on one site. If the organisation were to grow beyond the capacity of the building and its land, then instead of considering larger premises, a new centre of a similar size should be created in another region. The second centre might have similar purposes. It could also have a shop front and a meeting room but perhaps meet some of the other administrative needs of the growing organization. It might for instance focus on certification, training or research work. Such an approach to development helps to maintain an intimate human scale, avoid the pitfalls of continual growth and encourage regional development. It would also mean that while Stroud is likely to be the location for this centre at present, another region could take it on at some future date.

While ownership of the building and land should be with the BDAA, the management of certain areas such as the cafe or book shop could be taken on by sympathetic partner initiatives within a cooperative structure.

Developing a cooperative climate and encouraging networking is part of the Association’s ethos. Given a suitably sized shop front area, other compatible initiatives could also be offered space for information displays. The meeting space could likewise be shared as could possibly some of the office facilities.

Funding such a project will of course be no easy task and it is unlikely that the purchase and development of such a property would leave much change from a million pounds.

Because of its sustainable, energy efficient and community focused intention however it should prove an interesting project for some funding bodies.

Drawing by Dilly Eeles

vegetables.

A condition would be that they follow biodynamic gardening principles or at the very least operate organically. These individual plots would need to relate to one another and together form an integrated whole. This would require consciousness not only for maintaining paths and hedges but also developing a concept of beauty for the whole garden and the planting of attractive flower borders. Such a garden would require some indoor space with tea making facilities and carefully designed individual tool storage areas. A play area for children would be needed as well possibly as a small research and demonstration plot.

The site could be used to run all kinds of workshops to demonstrate and explain compost making, the preparations, the planting calendar and much else besides. It would also aim to encourage real community involvement.

Human-scale growth As with many things connected with biodynamics, it is important to consider the broader longer term aspects of such an initiative and above all to maintain the integrity of our objectives. Such aspects include answers to the question what happens when we grow? Size of operation is something which is often not considered when a project begins. Later when growth takes off it is often too late to change course. An important principle behind this project

What do you think?

Before proceeding any further with these ideas however we would like to involve you the readers and members of the Association. What do you think about having a new centre? Do you think the ideas outlined here befit an organization such as ours? If not what other suggestions do you have? If you are inspired by these ideas do you have any funding suggestions and can you offer any help in this direction? Are there other ways you might wish to contribute?

One of the first things we will have to do of course will be to identify a suitable property. We are currently keeping our eyes open for such a place but if anyone has a place in mind or even knows someone who might offer a site, do get in contact.

In the next few months I look forward to being flooded by all your thoughts and ideas. Please do write in or email your comments to me at the office. I will then collate all the comments, suggestions and ideas which have been sent in and bring them to our AGM which will take place in the autumn (6-8th October).

We will have a space at this meeting to discuss the proposed new centre and share all the hopes and intentions as well as the concerns there may be regarding such a project. Afterwards I hope that we will be in a position to take a further step towards realizing this initiative. Please send all comments to the office.

Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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PRINCIPLES OF BIODYNAMIC SPRAY AND COMPOST PREPARATIONS

by Dr Manfred Klett - reviewed by Alan Brockman ith the ever growing interest in biodynamic agriculture it is very timely that a second combined edition of this study material, is now available. It was originally issued by the ‘International Biodynamic Initiatives Group’ as a result of conference lectures. (The Biodynamic Spray Preparations’ -1994: ‘The Biodynamic Compost Preparations’ – 1996).

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The biodynamic preparations are perhaps the outward expression of the fundamental difference between organic thinking and a thinking that strives to approach and understand the dynamic life forces in nature. This requires more than a replicating of natural processes, a copying of healthy sustainable forms of growing as practised for long periods in the past.

A helpful foreword by Bernard Jarman, (executive director of the BDAA) sets the scene and background which is then followed by a first chapter, ‘The development of consciousness and of agriculture’. In this brief but penetrating look into origins we are led to see the present in a much wider time frame of human development and relationship to the earth. The progress of human thought to freedom puts Rudolf Steiner’s work in a living relationship with our present time. Today we need to know how to relate in a free way not only to almost overwhelming materialistic logic but to the consequences which this 'logic' leads to. In the ‘Agriculture Course’ as Steiner’s suggestions for a renewal of agriculture are referred to, we are led to find a new relationship not only to our farms and gardens but to the way we view the world. This chapter could well be an introduction to the whole of his approach to fundamental polarities: I and world; above and below: death and life.

The biodynamic spray preparations are introduced in chapter 2 .These are based on cow horns. but before going into a detailed description of these we are pointed to the personal involvement which .is recommended if we are really to ‘grow’ into our work. There are two spray preparations, one made by filling cow horns with cow manure and the other by filling them with finely ground silica quartz powder, buried at different seasons .they are subject to different forces in the rhythm of the year.

Interesting descriptions and characterisations are given including why we bring such different materials together and ending with the fundamental polarity involved with their use. The possibilities of enhancing the basic polarity of form and substance are described in relation to the different living ‘ether forces’

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Chapter 3 ‘Stirring and Spraying the Preparations ’brings us further into practice and how this can lead to a new insight into their relationships with growth. A transmutation of substances is going on in which we are taking part. This allows a new relationship to develop to natural processes.

In the past a more dreamy consciousness allowed an awareness of these elemental forces to be experienced but now a more conscious relationship is not only possible but urgently needed. As this develops we become part of the flow of natural events and a feel for the right time to act gradually develops.

‘Life Forces and the Land’ are dealt with next. Here polarities of growth and decay and their manifestations of ‘etheric’ life forces are differentiated to embrace the wider environment. Landscape, life processes and lack of harmony in these (dying forests!) are put into a comprehensive picture. Soil structure in relation to both chemical ‘fertilising’, homeopathy and effects of varied potencies lead us into aspects of how these work in the preparation plants. Future prospects for the earth are indicated. Results of the use of the preparations backed by experimental work are a welcome section for practising growers.

In the next chapter, ‘Protein and Yarrow’ are used as a guide to a better understanding of the principles, make up and usage of the preparations. From yarrow’s appearance we are led to the contrast of sulphur to potassium. We have here again a polarity; above/below. This description is perhaps one of the most inspiring insights offered. It is developed in an imaginative characterisation of how yarrow relates to the whole. The reason for associating the preparation plants with animal organs, in most cases, also leads us into wider connections. Further descriptions concerning making the preparations show how an ongoing earth enlivening process is developed when the more enduring quality of animal nature is involved. This quality of enlivening the solid earthly element is connected with a ‘new nitrogen’ formation process furthered by the yarrow, camomile and nettle preparations. As free human beings we are not only taking on responsibility for the continuation of nature but are involved in the development of a new nutrition which can arise when natural processes are guided to a higher level. We are, out of insight, in the position to take nature further, to add a further step which she cannot take by herself. New ‘super substances’ can be added to evolution!

Chapter six, ‘The Six Preparations’. Here we are confronted with the polarity of materialistically orientated thought to that of Steiner’s approach. This is seen in the reductionist view of a condensation process, as typified in the periodic table being counteracted by that where the biodynamic preparations represent a path of reintegration of substances with their origins. This process is traced through the revivifying plant world, the ensouling animal world to the view that a further stage can be developed, a

spiritualization by way of the preparations. This last is a free human deed born of insight! This approach requires that we view nature as having originated in a higher ideal world and as having materialised by condensing and solidifying. The need for this connection of solidity and the consequent possibility of orientation in space e.g. uprightness and ego consciousness, is implied. That we are on our way to re-establish our connection with our divine origin through prayer and inner work is something we do for ourselves what we do as a free deed using the preparations is repeating this process for nature. The preparations are a kind of meditation for nature, reconnecting it with its origins.

The concluding chapter ‘The Biodynamic Preparations as Sense Organs’ poses the question in what sense is the reader to understand this? Our task as self conscious (ego) beings is to create an addition to nature, out of a moral approach, which can give a new direction to the beings active there. If we become ever more aware through observation, study and working with the preparations we can develop our imagination, and inspiration which lead to enthusiastic action. This enthusiasm brings an enlivening gift to nature. A real Christianising impulse is given to the elementary beings engendered by such actions of care and love.

Referring to the six preparations, two groups can be distinguished: the first working from below the surface: the second above. These are then considered in detail as regards composition and wider relationships. Moving upwards from the sub-natural world and the connection of potassium with radioactivity, a substance with which yarrow has a special relationship, we are led via camomile

(related to calcium & potassium) and stinging nettle (calcium, potassium & iron) into the heart of nature. From there on the ascent towards the super-natural world and seed formation goes via oak bark (calcium in living process), dandelion (silica & potassium), to valerian (light, warmth, air). The connections with the various animal organ sheaths, used in four of these preparations, are explained and put once again into a much wider picture of the relationship of the animal kingdom to the world.

A whole lifetime’s work is embodied in this little book. It is only little in size, (105 pages including a useful bibliography,) in content it is addressing world-wide responsibilities. These are taking on an ever more urgent form; global warming; droughts; dying forests; nature catastrophes; unsustainable forms of food production.

Rudolf Steiner suggested ways to meet such problems so that we can work more wisely with nature. Mankind can only be thankful for the insights, into the inner workings and relationships, of nature that he gave. Manfred Klett has ‘put us in the ‘picture’. His life’s activity has been devoted to the service of the earth, especially in its connection with social ideals. For many years he was the leader of the ‘Agricultural Section of the School for Spiritual Science’ at the Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland.

Before that he was a founding member of the Dottenfelderhof farm community near Frankfurt in Germany. One can hope that this book will inspire many; it leads us into the future giving hope in what seems an uncertain world.

This review originally appeared in New View and is reproduced here with their permission.

Extraordinary Plant Qualities for Biodynamics

by Jochen Bockemühl / Kari Järvinen - reviewed by Bernard Jarman he medicinal plants which are used for making the biodynamic compost preparations have often been studied by farmers, gardeners and scientists. A lot of fascinating insights have been gained and many books and essays have been published on the subject during the course of the last eighty years. Is there anything more to learn? Well, yes actually.

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This book has been put together by two unusual botanical scientists, who approach the subject using the very disciplined method of observing plant life inspired by JW Goethe. Though best known in the English speaking world for his poetry, Goethe was also an accomplished scientist who discovered, amongst other things, the metamorphosis of form in a growing plant. Through combining an artistic appreciation of plant life in its full context with a rigorous scientific study of the observed phenomena he was able to develop a valuable technique for understanding the true nature of plant life and indeed life as a whole. Inspired by the enthusiasm shown by Steiner towards Goethe's ideas, this technique was then developed further in the context of the Natural Science Section at the Goetheanum in

Dornach. The two authors of this book, Jochen Bockemühl and Kari Järvinen, have spent their lives pursuing this approach which is now widely referred to as 'Goethean Observation'.

In order to understand this method, the reader is invited to explore simple phenomena of nature without drawing on previous knowledge. By simply looking at a bare twig, at its structure and form and the way it relates to the dimensions of space a lot can be learnt about the way it lives and grows. The deeper one can enter into its nature the more can one understand of its quality. A plant is also not alone.

It is embedded in its surroundings and has a context.

Gradually as one enters into it more aspects become apparent and the whole picture of the plant being begins to emerge.

The many years spent developing and refining this Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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encourages a rich range of plant and animal species to thrive around it. Then there is the strange plant horsetail at home on disturbed soil. Colourful paintings accompany each description.

In the following chapters these different plant gestures are developed further and related to the cycle of the year, the Soul Calendar of Rudolf Steiner and our own inner experiences of the changing seasons. There then follows a section which considers the botanical details of each of the preparation plants in turn.

How they grow, what their leaf sequences are, whether they are perennial or annual etc. They are considered in pairs - yarrow and chamomile, nettle and valerian, oak and dandelion and horsetail.

observational approach means that it can now be used as a scientific tool. In this book the biodynamic compost preparations are the main focus. As always when considering living organisms and especially when using this this method, it is important to first look at the whole before considering the parts. The first chapters therefore concentrate on the type of landscape in which the various preparation plants are to be found - woodlands, flowering meadows or rocky hillscapes. One is led through a process of sensing (smelling, hearing and touching as well as seeing) the unique qualities of each site and how light and shade interelate differently. The next step is to live into the specific site conditions that the plants require in order to thrive.

Once the context is established each plant is considered in turn beginning with the dandelion for it is the first of the preparation plants to flower. The order chosen is that of the seasonal succession of their flowering periods. Since dandelions never grow alone in nature, the plant community in which they are embedded needs to be considered too . So it is for each of the plants. Nettles are shown growing in the half-shade of the woodland edge.

Then comes chamomile out in the open beside a field of corn and around midsummer Valerian flowers in moist places where wood and meadow intermingle. Later comes yarrow. It is at home on dry sunny banks where the soil tends to be poor. The oak tree grows in the woodland and

At this point begins one of the most fascinating parts of the book, an exploration of what an organism is and where organs can be found in the landscape. An animal organ is one thing, but a plant? The place where it is growing, the site and all that goes on there, can this become an organ of the landscape? What of the animal organs used to make the preparations? How can they be understood? And what of the medicinal properties of these plants? All these questions and more are addressed in a remarkably sensitive and artistic way. The process expressed through this book is one of feeling amd sensing one's way into the being of nature.

The ideas and inspirations from the agriculture course, run as an unseen thread through the book where they are presented and reworked in quite a unique and very accessible way. There is even a section on the 'five sisters of protein'. It is all in all an inspirational book that will be invaluable for students, newcomers and old timers in equal measure. It offers a well grounded method for exact learning and at the same time seeks to awaken the artist in each of us. No other book about the preparations approaches the subject in quite this way.

"Extraordinary Plant Qualities for Biodynamics" will be published by Floris Books in September 2006www.florisbooks.co.uk It will then be available from BDAA ÂŁ12.99

THE BIODYNAMIC FOOD & COOKBOOK

by Wendy Cook - reviewed by Karin Jarman

ry and invite Wendy for dinner. You will find her a very appreciative guest and one who is, naturally, very interested in the food you serve her. She tastes the food with her whole being. Eating is a totally sensual experience for her, she just savours it! It is a sublime pleasure to her. So do not be daunted by the prospect, she'll even offer to do the washing-up!

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I am not a professional cook, I enjoy cooking when I have the time for it. I often invent my recipes as I go along depending on my mood, my larder and the time available, but I am not capable of the "fancy" tricks that good cooks get up to and my pastry is hit-and-miss. Wendy was a lovely presence in my kitchen, not critical but inspiring, and - wait for it - eager to learn from me! This is how Wendy's cookbook came about. It is full of references of her having

been inspired by others. She is truly generous in this respect.

So how does this book earn a space on the cramped bookshelf of cookbooks? Well, first of all it is so much more than a cookbook. We can follow Wendy's own journey through some autobiographical snippets that trace her interest in good food from a frugal post-war childhood, through her time as a high-society entertainer and on to being the mother of a young child with severe asthma that led her on a search for truly wholesome food. One of her enduring childhood memories is of her father cutting a mars bar and jelly babies into waver-thin slices and arranging them in a beautiful pattern on the plate!

Her approach is not fundamentalist or extreme in any sense of the word. Her search led her via macrobiotics to biodynamics which she now fully embraces. From a fairly narrow and limiting approach she was led to one that appeals to her for its diversity and flexibility. It is a holistic concept that acknowledges the divine nature of our food from its origin right through to the table. The chapter dedicated to this is once again filled with her own sense experiences, you walk over the farmyard with her, smell the good smells of a well-kept farm and meet the people running it, rather than being confronted by some philosophy.

The descriptions become even more colourful in the chapter about her time in Majorca where for some years she lived a simple life with her family. We are taken there in order to experience the wonderful climate that brings forth nature's abundance to such an extent that you feel that it cannot be far off from the original garden of paradise.

You get to smell the orange blossoms as well as the more earthy aspect of freshly slaughtered meat. She spares us the details of this since it proved too much for her as well.

You meet the locals by name and get taken to one of their rich festivals with the tables groaning under the weight of food. You will find throughout how she walks her talk and uses her senses wherever she goes. She is someone who lives life to the full. Not for her are strict dietary rules, what counts is the sheer joy of cooking, eating and sharing food with friends, celebrating and giving thanks. I was grateful, for example, to see the divine properties of honey again restored to its rightful place having lately been given a bad name alongside refined sugar.

encouragement to work as much as possible with seasonal, locally sourced foodstuffs. She has a chapter on ecology as well and offers special festive recipes to crown each season with the gifts of its bounty. I was eager to try one of her recipes that included wild food - the nettle dumplings. These were a great success with friends who were invited to an experimental dinner in order to do this book review. Soup was followed by her Coca Mallorquina, which is a kind of a pizza but without cheese but instead is with the Moorish inspiration of raisins and pine kernels.

Although a recipe from the summer section I just happened to have the right ingredients to hand. Again this worked a treat, including the yeast dough which I felt slightly daunted by at first. At Easter I treated my family with the Asparagus Tart with Wild Garlic and the Honey, Saffron and Pistachio Rice 'Bavarois'. The latter is like two recipes in one and I would say a little too rich for my liking, so if you use the first half only you will still end up with a stunning dish flavoured with exotic and unusual spices but not quite so heavy on the stomach.

It is beautifully illustrated with lavish photographs. The layout however is not always satisfactory as when for instance you have to turn a page in the middle of some recipe, especially since you cannot get it to lie flat. Also, I would have liked this fairly large book to have come in a more sturdy cover since it will no doubt get a lot of use.

This book is a worthy window on to biodynamic agriculture.

I have no doubt that it will bring this approach to the attention of people who might not otherwise have met it.

Well done, Wendy! And please come again soon to visit and bring your sense of celebration and fun into my kitchen!

"The Biodynamic Cookbook - Real Nutrition that Doesn't Cost the Earth" is published April 2006 by Clearview Books. It is available fro the BDAA office ÂŁ18.99

Although vegetarians will find a lot of inspiration she also offers some good meat and fish recipes. These often have a vegetarian or vegan option to go with them.

She traces the development of food culture through the ages in different countries and continents and considers the important quality questions of our time. At the same time she provides some very practical ideas such as how to equip your kitchen with no-nonsense gadgets and which heat source best preserves the nutrients in food. She also gives step-by-step instructions on how to make successful pastry. Did you know that pastry has a warp and a weft and that it will shrink unevenly if pulled into too many directions whilst rolling it out? This happens to mine all the time!

There is something new to learn even with basics like this.

What I like best is that her recipe section that is arranged according to the seasons. This makes it possible to create an immense variety throughout the year and provides an Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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WHAT DOES LIGHT SAY ABOUT FOOD QUALITY?

by Jürgen Strube and Peter Stolz lants thrive in the light and glow in the dark. If the transition between night and day is reproduced in an apparatus, clear differences can be observed between organic and conventionally grown plants when they are exposed to coloured light. Being dormant is part of seed nature. With organic seed this was significantly enhanced. Organic apples appeared, according to the light measurements, to be more ‘fruit typical’. This was then verified through chemical tests. It was possible to draw these conclusions because the measurements were related to the development of the plant.

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What is measured?

The whole sample, e.g. an apple, was first of all illuminated (excited) by a dark red light. Afterwards (in total darkness),

chemical substances stood at the one pole (represented by citric acid in diagram 1) and were stimulated by blue light. At the other pole were the fruits and leaves, stimulated by red, yellow and green light. A mid position was taken by the seeds. To our sense observation they appear lifeless in their dormant state and being stimulated by blue light are similar to that of chemicals. On the other hand seeds were also stimulated by red, yellow and green light thereby revealing a connection with the life processes.

If this classification is to have validity, then the colour spectrum of the seed would need to change with germination, that is at the moment of transition from a dormant to a vegetative active state. Through increasing excitation by red, yellow and green light the middle spectrum in figure 1 (wheat seeds) gradually becomes similar to the ‘leaf’ type. This is exactly the case. The alteration of the spectrum from ‘seed type’ to ‘leaf type’ is easily measurable.

Interestingly the opposite also holds good. Indeed, not much research has been done with respect to the changes in the spectrum with regard to the ageing or breaking down processes. However with the already investigated food samples, results shows that for example tomato puree manifests as numerous single substances. (Strube et al. 2004).

Ripening expressed as differentiation Growth and differentiation are well known manifestations of plant development processes at the cellular level as well as in the whole plant. Therefore, at first a seed sprouts and forms as a first step of differentiation the seedling and the root. After these have grown a while, a further differentiation comes about with the formation of a leaf from the stem.

Growth and differentiation alternate with one another until in the end a fully developed plant with stem and leaves arises.

the light given off by it was measured. The same procedure was followed with red, light red, yellow, green, ultra-violet and white light. The diagram shows how the measuring instrument was set up.

If the intensity of the reflected radiance is expressed on a graph (spectrum) it becomes clear that this radiance is dependent on the colour used. According to the kind of test there are shown to be three basic forms, which can be named as leaf/fruit type, seed type and chemical type.

These three types of spectrum are shown in figure 1.

Measurable plant development and decay.

KWALIS began by first comparing a number of samples using fluorescent excitation spectroscopy. Among the tested samples a noticeable polarity emerged. Isolated

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An interplay of growth and differentiation applies to apples too, even if as a fruit it presents only a part of the complete plant besides root, trunk, twigs and leaves. At the beginning of its development e.g. in its ‘cherry’ sized stage, the colouring of the inside is relatively uniform and it has very little differentiated form. Only with larger apples are the seed cavities and seeds clearly visible. On approaching to ripening their colours at last change from whitish to brown. The peel also alters, depending on variety, from a uniform green through yellowish colour tones to varied nuances of red. With increasing ripeness, sugars and aromatic substances arise in the apple.

Ripening can therefore be described as an increasing differentiation. A picked apple keeps its condition for some time without alteration. At some point however, the apple rots and gradually goes into a state of decay – the former highly differentiated ordering of the fruit disappears again.

F i g 1 a b o v e : Basic forms of the spectrum. Leaf/fruit types have higher values with red and yellow, lower with blue. The chemical type only shows a significant blue value. The seed type has its highest value in blue with values diminishing towards the red. In the white light each sample measured 100%.

Fig 3 below: Different calendula seeds measured with the spectroscope.

Darker (left) and lighter (right) samples of the variants were measured separately.

The two samples with relatively low values (green) are 'seed typical'. They were grown organically. The samples with higher values is more vegetative in quality and was grown conventionally. The two organic samples also differ from one another. The most 'seed typical' samples (lowest value) are biodynamic.

When contemplated, ripening and differentiation open an interesting perspective of measurable polar relationships.

With an apple the flesh can be measured as a ‘fruit type’ spectrum and the seeds as a ‘seed type’ spectrum. That is actually so. Many tests on apples have shown that the spectrum can be simplified and replaced by a characteristic numeric value, the yellow/blue relationship. If the yellow value rises the blue value falls and vice versa.

The illustration shows the alteration of the yellow/blue ratio with the ripening of the apple, in the upper part for the fruit flesh, in the lower part for the seeds. The apples come from a trial at the Louis-Bolk Institute (Dreibergen / Holland) (Bloksma et al 2001). The yellow/blue relationship in the spectrum of the fruit flesh becomes ever more a fruit type with increasing ripeness. Correspondingly, the reverse happens with the yellow/blue relationship in the seeds falls and thereby becomes more ‘seed typical’.

With the cereals, only the grains can be investigated.

Fig 2 above: Yellow/blue ratio of apples at different harvesting dates. The flesh of the fruit becomes more 'fruit typical', the pips more 'seed typical'. Ripening occurs in a differentiated way and is expressed by the increasing differences between flesh and seed values Fig 4 below: Light intensity of egg yolks according to their origins. Eggs from conventional battery and straw yard systems have the lowest values. Those of biodynamic origin have the highest values but also appear in the medium range (see text)

Through comparison of the yellow/blue ratio this test also allows the differentiation of the samples to be assessed with regard to their seed dormancy. In wheat from the research plots of the ’Forschungsinstituts fur Biologisch Landbau’ (FiBL Schweiz) it was possible in the four investigated growing seasons to ascertain, without doubt, the difference, for example, between the organic and conventional variants (yellow/blue ratio).

In a trial with white beans Hiss and Buchmann (BUCHMANN et Al 2000) showed that even after two years the origin of the conventional or the biodynamic seed could be differentiated. Parallel trials were carried out using conventional and biodynamic seeds (variety Trebona). In the trial the biodynamic was grown in soil and conventional one in a soil-less nutrient solution. After two growing cycles, in both the soil as well as the soil-less media the biodynamic could clearly be distinguished from the conventional seed by means of fluorescent excitation Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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spectroscopy. (STRUBE et al 2004). From the bean research it can be concluded that instead of the current two years then a longer cultivation time could be used e.g. four years. It must be proved experimentally how many years of cultivation are needed before conventional seed adjusts through organic methods. In any case, hybrid varieties should perhaps be more thoroughly researched.

Biodynamic Growing - measuring seed type We were asked for an evaluation of calendula seeds, used as raw material for pharmaceutical and cosmetic use, using fluorescent excitation spectroscopy. Each of the samples sent consisted of lighter and darker parts. In order to avoid a differentiation due to mixed conditions, the lighter and darker parts were measured separately. Two samples showed with the yellow/blue relationship as ‘seed typical’ and one was relatively of a more vegetative quality.

Between the two seed type tests there was also a clear measurable differentiation. As was established later it was the biodynamic sample that showed the most expressed dormancy.

Organic Feed for laying hens Information on the effect of organic food on human being was demonstrated through the Monastery Study by of HUBER et al (2003) as well as in animal feeding experiments (VELIMIROV 2001). It was possible to measure the effect of different feeding regimes using the light measurements on the egg yolk (Kohler 2001). High light emission of the egg yolk is, in comparison to the feather condition is easy to assess. Tests of eggs in practice also show clear differences in luminescence. Eggs were collected from the producers or bought from the trade and afterwards coded and sent to KWALIS for testing (MEHLHASE 2002).

It is likely that the hens that were kept in straw yards or battery conditions were given conventional feed, while those from organic farms were primarily fed on organically grown feed. Following the investigations of Kohler it is to be expected that the higher measurements of the organic eggs rests on the influence of organic feeding and on freeranging. The data from the two farms in the mid section (see diagram 4) gave rise to an inquiry into these producers in particular because one of the two Demeter farms had taken the highest place in a previous investigation. It turned out that before this investigation, as a result of special conditions on this holding, bought in feed constituents (within permitted limits) had been used.

Typical Forms of Ripeness through Organic Growing The plant products that were investigated up to now, the characteristic seed dormancy and inner differentiation could be recognized according to the way they have been grown.

If one brings together the results with those carried out through out chemical testing to determine the nitrogen metabolism and protein formation, one can conclude that the conventional method with its mineral fertilisation intensifies the growth phase. The later ripening phase of the plant failed however to have a corresponding intensification. The result was that the plant gave a predominant vegetative impression and indicated less inner ripeness.

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In organic growing the provision of nutrients probably results indirectly from the participation of the organisms in the soil. The plant is less stressed, the relationship of growth to ripening is evened out. It clearly gives a stronger typical ripening.

Previous data allows the supposition that the biodynamic methods, through using the preparations, strengthen the harmonious relationship of growth to ripening. In our tests it often provides the clearest ripened products.

Dr. Jurgen Strube and Dr. Peter Stolz, KWALIS Qualitatsforschung Fulda GmbH, Fuldaer Str. 21, 36160 Dipperz Originally published in January 2006 in Lebendige Erde and based on a translation by Alan Brockman References: Bloksma, J., et al. (2001). Parameters for Apple Quality.

Part 1 Report. Louis Bolk Instituut. Driebergen. 2001. 90 74021 22 0 Buchmann, M., et al. (2000). Wachsen Pflanzen ohne Boden anders? Qualitätsforschung am Beispiel bodenunabhängiger Kulturverfahren im Vergleich zu Biologisch-Dynamischer Wirtschaftsweise. Lebendige Erde (4/2000) S. 46-47 Huber, K., et al. (2003). The Monastery Study - How does food quality affect body, soul and spirit? Published by the Forschungsring für Biologisch-Dynamische Wirtschaftsweise, Darmstadt , Germany 2004 English translation available on the BDAA website www.biodynamic.org.uk)Wie wirkt die Erzeugungsqualität von Lebensmitteln? Kann eine konsequente Ernährung mit vorwiegend biologisch-dynamisch erzeugten Lebensmitteln Veränderungen im körperlichen, seelischen und geistigen Bereich hervorrufen? - Ergebnisse der Ernährungs-Qualitäts-Studie des Forschungsring (Klosterstudie). Lebendige Erde (4/2003) S. 42-47 Köhler, B. (2001). Der Einfluß von Haltung, Fütterung und Beleuchtung auf die Biophotonenemission (delayed luminescence) sowie herkömmliche Qualitätsparameter von Hühnereiern. KWALIS Qualitätsforschung Fulda GmbH, Dipperz. 3-935769-00-8 Mehlhase, J. (2002). Herkunftsbestimmung von Hühnereiern durch Isotopenmassenspektrometrie und Biophotonenanalytik. Rheinische Friedrich-WilhelmsUniversität Bonn.

Landwirtschaftliche Fakultät, Fachbereich Oecotrophologie. Bonn. Diplomarbeit. 181 Seiten Strube, J., et al. (2004). Lebensmittel vermitteln Leben Lebensmittelqualität in erweiterter Sicht. KWALIS Qualitätsforschung Fulda GmbH, Dipperz. 3-935769-01-6 Strube, J. und Stolz, P., (2004) "Extra Quality" of Organic Food ? - Results by Fluorescence excitation spectroscopy method as applied on selected plants From: DOES Organic Food Have An ‘Extra Quality’? New Research, New Perspectives and New Insights Elm Farm Research Centre Strube, Jürgen und Stolz, Peter (2000) Fluorescence Excitation Spectroscopy for the Evaluation of Seeds.

Proceedings 13th International IFOAM Scientific Conference Velimirov, A. (2001). Ratten bevorzugen Biofutter. Ökologie & Landbau (117) S. 19-21

KNOWING MORE ABOUT SOIL

by Richard Thornton Smith oil is self-evidently what plants grow in – it is the interface between lithosphere and atmosphere where life processes are concentrated. In a truly visible way earth and cosmos are linked by plants which means that soils too, embody a working together of these polarities. Earth and cosmos were a unity for Rudolf Steiner while this concept, and specifically that of the earth as a living organism, were things of which ancient peoples were formerly conscious – the mythological lineage of Gaia, Demeter and Persephone reflected this. ‘Mother earth’ is today merely an affectionate and grateful reference to our planet, even finding a place in scientific literature on soil.

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At the heart of biodynamics is the creation of a healthy farm organism where the skin of our mother earth is made as sensitive as possible to cosmic influences. It is axiomatic therefore that we try to understand the nature of our soil before considering how it can best be managed by organic and biodynamic practices.

Soil formation Under natural circumstances the development of soil mostly takes place over long periods of time by chemical and biological processes which break down what is called parent material. This is usually of mineral nature and can be the solid geological formation underlying the present soil or a superficial cover provided by glacial moraine (till), sand or dust (loess). It can be derived from slope wash, river alluvium, dune sand or even volcanic ash and lava flows. Soil can develop in drained estuarine muds and fen peats, these having formed a basis for highly productive horticulture.

Mineral decomposition, or weathering, takes place through the action of rainwater and groundwater, together with organic substances from living and decaying matter, for the essence of soil is its relation to living processes. The result is a loose fabric of altered alumino-silicates (typically clay minerals), together with resistant minerals (typically quartz and mixed oxides of iron and aluminium). Other substances extracted by mineral breakdown – mostly plant nutrients – dissolve in the soil moisture. In this way, stony material is broken down to an assemblage of sand, silt and clay-sized particles, the proportions of which are referred to as the soil texture.

weathered and generally richer in nutrients. It is principally the light-coloured feldspars in these rocks which become clay minerals. A sandstone of mostly quartz sand particles cannot lead otherwise than to a sandy soil. A mudstone, shale or greywacke leads to a soil rich in silt and clay particles. A limestone – largely biogenic – presents more difficult problems, for any residual soil depends on how much impurity is contained in the sediment, or on other materials deposited over it. In practice, most soils are of mixed parentage owing to the effects of changing climate during and after the Ice Ages, and to above: Dutch polder lands human interference with all its complexities.

above: Felspar crystal

above: Prairie soil, Texas below: Soil under rainforest, Malaysia

above: Calcareous soil on chalk, Wiltshire below: Weathered soil to ten metres, Thailand

All sediments have been derived from two very broad categories of crystalline igneous rock, granitic or basaltic. The granites are silicarich, containing minerals less easily broken down while the basaltic types are more readily Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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Environmental change and human impact Because of the long period of their development soils have a biography. If not exactly like people, it is still fascinating to contemplate landscape history and the vegetative forces which have gone into soil formation over time. Soils in Britain and many other areas have developed under forests, a fact drawn not only from the physical remains of trees in bogs but from studies of pollen in stratified deposits. After the end of the Ice Age there is already widespread evidence of human activity in the Mesolithic so it remains an open question as to how far early groups of people determined the altering composition of forest. The first systematic clearances appear to have been in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with the beginning of settled life. Dartmoor, the Yorkshire Dales, the Vale of York and parts of Ireland were laid out to long parallel land allotments within which farmsteads were located. Upland forests were probably easier to clear and cultivate with primitive methods and presented less daunting drainage problems than the lowlands. But with their predominantly acid soils they were not able to reward settlement continuously for many generations, particularly in face of a deteriorating climate. Most early agricultural features

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eventually disappear under layers of peat or develop into heather moorlands whose grazing and sporadic burning effectively restrained tree regeneration and reinforced a regime of soil acidification. Meanwhile in the Craven district of Yorkshire, exploitation of the thin soil above the Pennine limestone accelerated the emergence of limestone ‘pavements’ and possibly the same was true of the Burren of western Ireland.

Soils contain fragments of pottery, charcoal, brick, bone and flint implements showing how widespread have been the activities of human beings – often far from the horrors of modern housing estates. Besides incorporation through ploughing, anything dropped onto the surface will work its way into the soil in time through the action of earthworms.

It was noted in the most ancient times that rubbish thrown out of settlement areas replenished soil fertility. In some ancient village sites in northern Europe and elsewhere, the soil close to remains of settlement retains higher levels of organic matter to this day.

The soils of the plains and prairies of North America and the steppe lands of Russia began their formation after the

Ice Age under birch and coniferous woodlands – only in the last 5-6000 years have they been grasslands. Tropical rain forests experienced dryness during glacial periods and became practically savannah. Mediterranean areas had deciduous woods but by Classical times widespread clearance of evergreen oak woodland was occurring. This process denuded the soils of higher areas, led to the widening and elevation of river flood plains and to ports being stranded some distance from the sea.

Although forest has been stripped, re-grown and stripped again from the British Isles over several thousand years, the process has been confined to only the last few hundred years in other agricultural landscapes such as those of New Zealand and the eastern United States. In New Zealand the upland volcanic soils were particularly sensitive so that large areas lost much of their topsoil after European contact. This process has been more recent in many tropical and sub-tropical countries, such as subSaharan Africa and parts of India where deforestation and subsequent farming has led to widespread soil deterioration, erosion and even to desertification. It has meant that rivers in countries like Bangla Desh, Sri Lanka and Thailand, once able to maintain a steady flow, now discharge violently after monsoon rains while running almost dry at other times. To make matters worse, farmers have to compete with golf courses for precious water!

From post-Roman times in Britain, the use of heavier ploughs and oxen made it possible to cultivate the heavier soils of lowland areas which were much more capable of sustained use. Much historically poorer drainage of these lowlands owed its existence to stripping of forest cover on the higher, better-drained areas so it was to be drainage, especially from the 18th century, which became a major preoccupation of agriculturalists as p o p u l a t i o n i n c r e a s e d .

Drainage, supported m o r e recently by grant aid, has of

course increased the value of much agricultural land while decimating wetlands and their wildlife. Soil drainage also leads to release of carbon dioxide and to a diminishing supply of soil organic matter. Here, as in other respects, ‘agricultural improvement’ is synonymous with environmental disaster.

Soils have therefore been adjusting to changing environmental pressures throughout their long histories but the rate and scale of human destruction has increased alarmingly. It is the legacy of this waste of natural fertility together with the philosophy of 20th century agriculture with which we must now contend.

Soil types As handed down to us from the past, soils are strictly individuals but they can be grouped into various classes on a local and global scale. In most agricultural landscapes, temperate or tropical, parent material provides the foundation while topographic position and its impact on soil depth and drainage provide a template for predicting soil characteristics. In temperate regions, where drainage is free we have the brown earth where plant roots, bacterial and earthworm activity extend well into the soil – particularly well illustrated when lime is present. While the surface is darker from organic matter, the subsoil varies from bright ochre to greyish-brown in colour. On the other hand, where drainage is impeded due to high silt and clay content or restricted due to build-up of ground water we find gley soils. The grey tone of these soils derives from hydrated iron oxides in their reduced state while rusty-coloured mottling along root channels results from periodic drying out.

Black manganese nodules, indicating the maximum level of seasonal groundwater, may also occur.

In the tropics, a similar slope sequence would reveal red soils on the upper landscape and black soils – due to differently formed clays – in the valleys.

On a wider scale one can see t h e

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imprint of climate as rates of processes double for every 10 degree celsius increase of temperature. Towards the tropics one finds more intense and deeper weathering, organic matter with more ephemeral existence and nutrients prone to rapid leaching under high rainfall. The strong red colour of Mediterranean and tropical soils, including the soils of Australia, comes from accumulation of resistant iron oxides on these ancient land surfaces. In higher latitudes and altitudes, beyond the margins of agriculture, soils tend to accumulate surface organic matter due to combinations of low temperatures, waterlogging and acidity. Podzolic soils predominate on the better-drained areas, usually under birch and spruce forests or heath-type vegetation, while extensive areas subject to frozen ground and snowmelt have gley soils. In Britain, the soils of lowland heaths and upland areas have combinations of these features. These soils, together with the red soils of low latitudes are inherently low in fertility.

Between these zones we find the most fertile soils are, or certainly once were, those of the world’s great temperate grassland (wheat-growing) areas, characteristically the chernozem type – a deep organic-rich soil containing lime nodules as a result of upward capillary processes taking place in summer. Many soils, due to slope instability or frequent surface additions of material, are immature while many of the soils nowadays most important to farming are artificial, being based on bulldozed terraces or the enriched soils of protected horticulture.

Aeration and drainage Let us now look at a number of soil properties of importance to agriculture – firstly aeration and drainage.

All soil life takes place in the water films around soil particles so the nature of this inner world is of more than academic interest. Texture provides soil with much inner space or voids, which we refer to as pores. Larger pores (macropores), as in a sandy soil, form a connected system leading to a freely draining soil. In silt or clay-rich soils much of the porosity is microscopic or capillary in nature so they take longer to moisten or to dry out and drain. Unless under permanent pasture, these soils depend more on ploughing or subsoiling to introduce air while any field drains will have to be more closely spaced to be effective.

How many of us actually have plans of the field drains on our farms? Some clays allow water to penetrate their crystal structure – these will swell when they wet and shrink on drying out. Drainage in such soils owes much to the formation of larger structural cracks.

No higher life processes are possible without water or oxygen so soil moisture must always be balanced by aeration. Water contains dissolved oxygen – less as the temperature is raised, and less the longer it takes for water to move through the soil. The majority of plants and soil organisms require the exchange of atmospheric gases into the soil for healthy metabolism and to avoid build-up of toxic substances. Wet soils will take longer to warm up in springtime, offer a more limited growing season and a less satisfactory environment for plant roots. Earthworms emerge from wet soils while legume nodulation and mycorrhizal development cannot occur. However, while sandy soils allow warmth to penetrate, they are also the most susceptible to late ground frosts. While freely draining, they may also be drought-prone which, of course, underlines the importance of organic matter.

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Organic matter and soil structure Soil organic matter has the effect of moderating the adverse impact of other physical and chemical soil characteristics. In agricultural soils, it normally comprises 1.5 – 3.5% by weight. Organic matter and in particular its ultimate breakdown product humus, are of great importance in the development of soil structure – the way that soil particles are held together into aggregates.

Structure includes the pattern of cracks or passages within the soil which facilitate root development and promote infiltration and drainage. Soils with stable structure resist the impact of raindrops, also disruption due to wetting and drying, freezing and thawing. The presence of lime is beneficial in that it forms bridges between microscopic particles of clay and humus.

Loss of organic matter leads either to total collapse of soil structure (sandy soils) or to a blocky rather than crumb structure. Because structural deterioration adversely affects infiltration rate, it also increases the risk of severe runoff and erosion. On the other hand, in greenhouses and polytunnels where heat is generated and water demands are large, insufficient attention to drainage and progressive structural deterioration, often lead to capillary salt accumulation.

While cultivation practices exert a strong influence on levels of soil organic matter, animal grazing is also sometimes a threat. Overgrazing and poaching of pastures thus causes compaction, weakens vegetative cover and exposes soil to erosion. Much structural damage to soils is also due to deformation of soil by machinery. Today’s 4-wheel drive tractors may lead to soils being tilled at too high a moisture content with consequent smear, or at a speed likely to crush rather than fold the soil.

Soil microbiology The presence of organic matter, through its influence on moisture retention and provision of food substrate, is vital to the well-being of soil organisms of all kinds.

Of particular importance in plant nutrition are the microorganisms. Many bacterial types – primary decomposers as well as nitrifiers – lead to mineral nutrients and nitrate becoming accessible to plants. Meanwhile specialised symbiotic organisms (Rhizobium species) provide nitrate for the Leguminosae. Free-living nitrogen fixers such as Azospirillum, also provide nitrogen in some environments.

Agriculturally useful legumes in temperate regions require soils which are above pH 5.5.

Their germination is adversely affected by cold and damp conditions while subsequent performance is limited by low phosphate.

Nodulation will be inhibited by high nitrogen levels and low molybdenum.

Plants also form symbiotic associations with a number of fungal genera which significantly increase growth and yield. These are the mycorrhizas which are present on all plants except the Leguminosae and the Cruciferae, including sugar beet, swedes, kale etc. The important group for agricultural crops are vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas. Here, the fungus invades and modifies root surface cells while an extensive mycelia, finer than ordinary root hairs, extends into the soil, greatly increasing root surface area. As with legume Rhizobia, the plant provides carbohydrate, in return for which the fungus provides a flow of mineral nutrients which would often not

be available to the plant under the prevailing soil pH. The fungus uses enzymes as do lichens, to extract soil minerals, including vital micro-nutrient elements. Soil fungi have more of an affinity for soils which are on the acid side and because of this they are able to help plants extract nutrients where they would otherwise be scarce. For this reason, if for no other, use of lime should be very restricted. Other factors likely to limit good mycorrhizal development include waterlogging, and soils which are left bare without a cover crop over winter.

Nutrient holding Here, we are concerned with the behaviour of nutrient substances in soil moisture and how they are held on soil particles. We should start with water. This, as we know, consists of hydrogen and oxygen, but a very minute proportion at any one instant comprises electrically charged H+ and OH– ions. For any substance to dissolve in water it needs to form ions and it is water’s dynamic character which brings this about. We should understand that once a substance has become an ion in water it is in the dissolved or non-particulate state – it is able to move freely and to connect with the surfaces of minerals. If one wishes, one can view an ion as taking on part of the living, or etheric quality of water, a necessary first stage to entering the living plant.

Ions, both negative (anions) and positive (cations) are held on soil particles by oppositely charged surfaces. It is in this way that soils resist the tendency of rainfall to leach out soluble substances. The alumino-silicate clays have surfaces and edges which offer charges while similar properties are displayed by humus. In fact humus, by weight, is ten to fifty times more effective than soil clays in holding nutrient substances (see compost calculation below). Oxide minerals also contribute exchange capacity but at usual soil pH values they attract mainly anions. The mechanism by which ions are held at particle surfaces is known as adsorption. All similarly charged ions may exchange for each other at particle surfaces according to circumstance, so we refer to the ability of a substance or a soil to hold nutrients, as its exchange capacity.

In some instances, nutrients can become attached too strongly onto soil particles, phosphate for example. The sites where the phosphate anion becomes strongly adsorbed are the positive edges of clay crystals and positive charges on humus and iron-aluminium oxide minerals. Phosphate can also replace structural oxygen and hydroxyl ions on the flat surfaces of clays, a process known as ligand exchange. These processes are known as fixation (see nutrient access below).

Acidity and alkalinity The relationship between H+ and OH– activity in water is expressed by the pH value. In pure water where H+ = OH– we have neutrality and the pH is 7 (pH being the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion activity). Readings above 7 are alkaline while readings below are acid. Each unit increase or decrease of pH represents a tenfold change in the relative activity of the two ions.

The concentration of certain basic cations in the soil, such as calcium, potassium and magnesium, together with carbonic and humic acids, affects the acid-alkali balance.

Basic cations react with water to generate hydroxyl (OH–) ions causing the soil to become alkaline in their presence.

On the other hand carbon dioxide dissolves in rainwater to form carbonic acid and is also generated by biological activity within the soil. For this reason there will usually be a seasonal variation in soil pH which is worth bearing in mind whenever soil analyses are carried out.

Soil pH has a strong influence on whether mineral nutrients will dissolve in the soil water and will therefore be available to plants. There is an optimal range of pH for nutrient uptake from pH 4.5 to 6.5. Although agriculturalists choose crops and pasture species which are broadly suitable for prevailing soil conditions, many soils remain blighted unless their pH can be adjusted. Traditionally, acid soils have been limed or marled (calcium carbonate usually being the main constituent) while alkaline soils have had gypsum (calcium sulphate) applied in order to promote maximum nutrient availability. If a soil has a high cation exchange capacity (CEC) (clays and organic rich soils) it has a higher lime requirement than in the case of a sandy soil with low exchange capacity. There is therefore a danger of over-liming sandy soils. While soil pH can be used as a guide to microbiological activity and nutrient availability, where there is more humus in the soil, agriculture can often remain productive at comparatively low pH because of higher exchange capacity and potentially greater nutrient reserves.

What benefits might we expect from working organically?

Plant and animal health It is widely acknowledged that farming organically brings benefits to wildlife while animal husbandry shows greatly reduced veterinary problems arising from living conditions and quality of feed. The general objective of creating a wholesome farm organism embodying biodiversity means that many crop pests can be countered by their natural enemies. In the soil it is no different. For example, parasitic nematodes will, in the absence of nematocides, increasingly be attacked by free-living types providing a suitable cropping regime is adhered to.

The manner in which nutrients become accessible to plants leads to healthier plant morphology and to the development of thicker-walled cells with a higher content of plant-protective chemicals such as polyphenols, cyanogenic glucosides and flavonoids. This all acts as a significant deterrent to pests while higher levels of these substances connects with the stronger flavour of organic and biodynamic produce and to its superior keeping quality.

Building organic matter reserves The use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers such as urea has the effect of depleting stocks of soil organic carbon. By comparison, an organic farming regime can build organic matter content and humus stability, leading to improved soil structure and water holding capacity. Better rooting characteristics, especially under biodynamic management, lead to increased depth of organic matter penetration. This results in increased drought resistance and less irrigation need, as organic matter can hold many times its weight in water. Here, we should note that repeated wetting and drying leads to accelerated microbiological loss of organic matter. Simple tests also show that repeated wetting and drying will make organic substances less able to absorb

water. One can therefore better understand why compost heaps should be covered and compost always dug into the soil and never thrown out and left on the soil surface.

It is well-known that continuous cultivation leads to diminished organic carbon – so also will global warming. A recent study found that of over 5000 sites in England and Wales only a tiny 8% had not experienced a loss of soil organic carbon between 1978 and 2003. There is justification for saying that organic methods – without explicitly doing so – represent an effective agricultural way of addressing this problem and improving carbon sequestration in soils.

The value of compost The subject of compost deserves more expansive treatment than is possible here but suffice to say that it provides several major benefits to the soil. It is, of course, a source of plant nutrients, notably nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur but it includes all the mineral nutrients. It enhances the soil’s structural condition and all that flows from that. It is an important source of, and substrate for, soil organisms and in the wider view of biodynamics it provides energies which radiate into the soil to promote the healthy growth of crops. But there is a further part which compost plays with regard to nutrient retention. Increased soil humus leads to increased exchange capacity. Now because of the importance of compost to organic farmers and gardeners it seems worthwhile to set out, for the more patient reader, a worked example showing how much benefit might arise from adding even a small amount.

Please note that it is dry weights which will be referred to.

Clay minerals have CEC values ranging from 5 to around 150 cmol /kg whereas humus substances have values of 200-500 cmol /kg. We shall assume that clay comprises 25% of our original soil and that its CEC is 17.5 cmol /kg (a 50% kaolinite / illite mixture typical of acidic temperate soils). Without any further material contributing exchange surface, the soil’s CEC per kilo would be 4.4 cmol.

However, it would be normal for the remaining 75% of the soil to contribute around twice this amount, from other minerals and humus, giving the soil a total value of around 15 cmol/kg.

Let us now say that our compost has a CEC of 200 cmol /kg (this reduces its potential to allow for a proportion of its dry weight not being humus in the strict sense at the time of application). We now add just 100g of this to 1 kg of our soil sample. 100g is one tenth of a kilo, so 100g compost @ 200 cmol /kg offers another 20 cmol to our soil. (NB. Final soil weight is 1100g and this now contains 35 cmol).

When the compost is mixed with original soil the overall CEC per kilo becomes 31.8 cmol – a 112 % increase.

Thus, small amounts of humus significantly impact on CEC while the lower a soil’s original exchange capacity, the greater will be the proportional benefit. If ‘sustainable’ farming is in need of proper definition, this must surely be one of its criteria.

Nutrient access Over many years much applied phosphate fertilizer has disappeared into chemically-farmed soils without being recovered by crop plants. As already mentioned, this is due to fixation on soil minerals. However, when organic matter decomposes it releases a variety of substances which have either cationic (positive) or anionic (negative)

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character. Organic anions are larger than the largest of several different phosphate anions and therefore become preferentially adsorbed at particle surfaces. In this way phosphate is released for use by plants. Soils with a higher organic content will normally be less susceptible to phosphate fixation – a widespread and wasteful problem in arable agriculture. Furthermore, under organic farming, bacterial release of phosphate will be more efficient as there will be no interference from pesticide residues.

Mention has already been made of the role of nodule bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi. These organisms are adversely affected by use of synthetic fertilizer, particularly phosphate in the case of mycorrhizas, as well as by pesticide residues. It will be very clear that measures adopted in organic husbandry actively promote these organisms.

The role of mycorrhizas was not seriously recognised until the 1980s, long after chemical culture had swept the landscape – these at least doubling the uptake of trace minerals compared to non-mycorrhizal soils. They also transfer plant defence and growth-promoting chemicals, which can, for example, protect against nematode infection of plant roots. Some of the chemicals evidently improve drought resistance for studies have shown higher rates of photosynthesis in mycorrhizal, as opposed to nonmycorrhizal, drought-stressed plants. It is also clear that mycelia penetrate smaller soil pores than would be accessible to plant root hairs.

Final thoughts All farming involves an exploitation of environmental resources – it is something we impose on the environment we have inherited from the past. Organic farming aims to work with natural processes and allow them to freely help the farmer, in comparison to which, the conventional chemical approach ends up fighting a costly and selfdefeating battle – and one which acts as a severe constraint on the health of the human race.

But if soil is the foundation, the success of agriculture depends on how well it works in relation to the soil. This is often a bone of contention, for marketing opportunity, and even the ideal of a mixed farm, can conflict with what is otherwise the best or most sustainable use of particular soils. Individual circumstances often don’t allow an ideal solution yet with organic farming, the rotation adopted should not only be mindful of nutrient fertility but also of the soil’s physical and biological condition arising from all the work we require of it. We should reflect that unless pasture management and rotation systems are effectively implemented it is unreasonable to expect the full range of benefits to follow from working in an organic, let alone biodynamic way.

Suggested further reading Nyle Brady The Nature and Properties of Soils Macmillan New York David Rowell Soil Science : Methods and Applications Longman Russell’s Soil Conditions and Plant Growth Ed. Alan Wild Longman Sattler / Wistinghausen Biodynamic Farming Practice BDAA

A NEW IMPULSE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

by Bruno Follador he life of the Earth depends on the will of the human being. The Earth will be what man makes of Her. We live, from now on, in a historically decisive moment of earth evolution.” These powerful words by Rudolf Steiner find a home in biodynamic agriculture. The possibility of Biodynamics taking root in Brazil, one of the largest agricultural countries in the world, is a powerful thought, for there arises a new impulse for social change.

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The Landless Rural Workers’ Movement in Brazil, or MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra), is the largest movement for social change in Latin America, organized in 23 out of the 27 Brazilian states. It is comprised of 1.5 million (and growing) farmers and families who were extricated from their land mainly because of the Green Revolution and the industrialization of agriculture. The MST was one of the first to boldly defy GMOs when they began to filter illegally into Brazil through Argentina. They are striving for land reform in a country where three percent of the population owns two-thirds of all arable lands, and are fighting for more just educational and economical systems. I have witnessed in their eyes the pain unfortunately characteristic of those who have suffered such injustice, as well as the incredible strength that is also inherent in these families. It is a strength that will change the agricultural situation Brazil faces today.

Andreas Attila, a biodynamic farmer and professor of Geography at the University of Sao Paulo, together with agronomist Jose Guilherme, became aware that bringing Biodynamics to this movement would not only help improve the lives of the families, but would also allow Biodynamics to rise up as an alternative to industrialized agriculture. With support from the Biodynamic Association of Brazil, Attila and Guilherme started a project with ten families in a MST settlement in Ipero, Brazil. The farmers responded with an almost immediate affinity toward Biodynamics and Anthroposophy, which seemed to resonate with truths already present in their hearts.

As progress was made, there was an attempt to certify the farms with Organic and Demeter labels in order to improve financial stability. Unfortunately, before this was made possible, Guilherme died in a car accident, and the project came to a hault. I had the privilege of speaking with Ligeirinho, a humble man from this settlement struggling to farm 10 acres. He spoke deeply of his faith in Biodynamics, and anxiously waits to learn more.

acquaint yourself with it and understand its views. Only then can you disprove it. You have to take the bull by the horns and refute materialistic science by its own methods.” This is exactly what is happening with Professor Attila’s initiative in Ipero and through his pioneering work bringing Spiritual Science into the academic world. In offering G o e t h e a n i s t i c Phenomenology to his classes, Attila provides his students the possibility of above: Senor Joao and his goat perceiving the landscape in a holistic way - a way which the duality of matter and spirit are overcome. It is allowing Anthroposophy to bridge the gap between teacher and student, young and old. Rudolf Steiner states, in his lecture cycle The Younger Generation, that this gap is “... due to the fact that the young cannot allow the dead thorn to be thrust into their living heart - the thorn which the head produces out of intellectualism. The young demand the livingness that can only come out of the Spirit.”

In addition to trying to restart the MST project, students at USP are also exploring the necessity of offering free or inexpensive biodynamic courses to students, farmers from the MST, and all others who have interest. Since USP is a public university, and, unfortunately, the Humanities are not highly valued by the government, the Geography department often struggles with faculty and student strikes, poor conditions, and scarce resources. The success of these initiatives, then, will depend on the generosity of outside financial assistance.

The implications of Brazil embracing the spiritual foundations for the renewal of agriculture is of extreme importance for the future of humanity. It would water seeds of hope, shed sunlight on the trueness of what it means to be a caretaker of the Earth, and could, through its own success and practicality, sprout new initiatives worldwide.

Today, a group of students from the University of Sao Paulo are trying to restart the project at Ipero. As a student of Attila’s, myself, I wonder, “What role could Geography, the study of the relationship between man and nature, play in uniting Biodynamics and the Landless Workers’ Movement? What is my part in this revolutionary impulse?

What possibilities could bringing Biodynamics and Anthroposophy to youth and universities create?”

References Attila, A. 2001. A Dissociacao Entre Homem e Natureza: Reflexos no Desenvolvimento Humano.

Sao Paulo, Brazil: Editora Antroposofica.

Branford, S., Rocha, J. 2002. Cutting the Wire: The Story of the Landless Movement in Brazil. London, England: Latin America Bureau.

Selawry, A. 1992. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer: Pioneer of Spiritual Research and Practice. Spring Valley, NY: Mercury Press.

Steiner, R. 1967. The Younger Generation. New York, NY: Anthroposophic Press, Inc. GA 217

In a conversation with E. Pfeiffer, Steiner said “If you wish to overcome the materialist point of view, you must first

For More Information Contact Bruno Follador: bruno_geo@care2.com

LIFE FORCES IN THE PLANT ORGANISM

by Thomas Link - translated by Michaela Hirschnitz n many references and lectures Rudolf Steiner draws attention to the etheric world, that part of the spiritual world which is closest to us, and makes us mindful that in order to orientate ourselves in it, we need to follow a path of inner training. Very little research has been carried out into this subject over the last 75 years. There have been however a number of individual researchers who were charged directly by Steiner to study of the laws operating in the etheric world and their effects on the physical-material plane. Thanks to eminent individuals like Günther Wachsmuth and Ehrenfried Pfeiffer some outstanding books and study materials are available which can help to train one's perceptive capacity with regard to the etheric world.

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the characteristics under consideration can be described as being genetically determined, i.e. this particular oak will consistently produce English Oak trees. Yet even here, the botanist is familiar with a great many modifications in form and shape.

The biodynamic movement still tends to follow conventional scientific research methods and draws its conclusions from observations made primarily on the physical-material plane. The more subtle the processes are however, the more difficult (if not impossible) it is to adhere to these methods. The spiritual world does not obey sense-based physical laws - indeed the opposite is true, physical laws are governed by spiritual realities.

At this point in our contemplation of the English Oak, our perceptions are far from exhausted and we discover attributes such as: strong and old, gnarled, awe-inspiring, attractive, repulsive, mighty and stately and many more, which no longer have anything to do with a botanical description as such. We find the tree to have vitality, to be flourishing or dying, flexible or rigid, colourful and glossy, sallow, dull, fragrant, beautiful or ugly and many other things besides. So, what engages us at this moment, and to which level or plane of experience do such perceptions and observations point? Our ordinary perceptive capacities actually reach their limits at the chemical level of the tree.

Although we can comprehend the biochemical processes and study the results, we cannot “see” the processes taking place in the tree. Here we have in fact arrived in the ‘super sensible-realm’, at one of the levels of activity in the world of living forces.

Martin Schmidt, who participated in the 'Agriculture Course’ given in Koberwitz in 1924, and later also his son, Georg Wilhelm Schmidt, continued to pursue the line of inquiry initiated there. Their research in the field of plant regeneration opened up a whole new approach for understanding the physical expressions in the plant organism of etheric formative forces and the laws governing them. In my own biographical development and in my forestry work, it has become a passion to experience and understand this world of living forces, so as then to be able to carry healing impulses into the forests and landscapes in my care.

Using the English Oak (Quercus robur) as an example, I would like to describe some of the interrelationships in the world of living forces and explain how they can be understood.

It is important to be clear in one’s mind that there are several levels (or planes) in the spiritual-super sensible realms and to know which level one happens to be in at any given moment, one must be able to identify the boundaries between them.

In the case of the English Oak, we are first faced with the physical-material nature of the tree which reaches deep into the earth with its roots, builds a long lasting trunk, and lifts its crown high above the ground. This however is true for more or less every tree. What is it then that makes this tree, which we can imagine so clearly to ourselves, an English Oak? The botanist can describe numerous details which will lead to the unmistakable conclusion, that this is an English Oak and not some other kind of tree or another variety of oak. However detailed this description may be however, we are still on the level of the physicalobservable. We then cross a boundary into what is not so readily accessible to sense-perception. In scientific terms

I would now like to elaborate this further: In the realm of etheric formative forces (etheric forces) everything is to be found that lies beyond the dense material body of the plant organism and which defines its state of being alive. This includes growth, the build up of matter, the circulation of fluids, respiration, warmth processes and rhythm.

Beyond this are the previously listed qualities such as ‘strong’, ‘beautiful’, ‘mighty’, ‘gnarled’, ‘awe-inspiring’,

Photographs of Oak leaves

‘attractive’, etc. These attributes correspond to the inner experiences the human being has of the tree. These do not belong to the world of etheric formative forces, but rather to the next higher level, the Astral plane. This realm corresponds to that of human feelings and emotions and which only play a peripheral role plant growth. The astral forces, which in the animal kingdom and in human beings are of major importance, affect the plant kingdom for example during pollination.

And finally we come to the highest level, the Spiritual plane, which ensures that an acorn always produces an oak, where beings within the zodiac create the so-called ‘plant-archetypes'.

In order to penetrate further into the nature of the earth and plant organisms, it is sufficient to consider in the first place the physical-material realm and that of etheric or formative forces. This etheric world can be differentiated into the four distinctively different and primary ether qualities: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Warmth Ether Light Ether Chemical Ether Life Ether

These four ethers which, in accordance with the fundamental laws governing their activity, are always in movement and through their ceaseless interweaving, come to physical expression on the earth as the four Greek elements: 1. Warmth Ether as Warmth 2. Light Ether as Light 3. Chemical Ether as Water 4. Life Ether as Earth Without the activities of these forces, all forms of life and the rhythms that sustain them would be inconceivable and the earth itself would be a lifeless desert.

Applied to our English Oak example, the following (simplified) representation emerges: 1. The Oak appears to us first in its material manifestation, in which the Life Ether comes to expression.

2. In the upward and downward flow of sap, in photosynthesis, in the forming of substance and in the reproductive vigour, one finds the activity of the Chemical Ether.

3. Form, Shape & Structure, Resistance to disease and colour variations of the tree are connected to the forces of the Light Ether.

4. Quality, uprightness, articulation und fragrance belong to the qualities of the Warmth Ether.

Because these ether forces are not bound exclusively to plants, but envelop the entire globe, move around freely and are being breathed in and out rhythmically, the different seasons arise. A wonderful illustration of this is the marked difference in the quality of warmth in May and in July despite identical periods of sunlight. This phenomenon can be traced to the fact that it is only at Pentecost / Whitsun that the warmth ether envelope is “breathed in” by the earth. By mid-August it reaches its point of greatest activity before departing from us once again in November.

In the wider universe these forces also interact with the planets, as revealed by the planetary influences on plant development.

The following illustration of three double sets of oak leaves shows the results of a trial project carried out at the B a u m s c h u l e Rittershain (Tree Nursery in Rittershain, Germany).

Three groups of acorns - all from the same tree were seeded within several weeks of one Above: The Four Ethers other under significantly different planetary constellations. Each double-set of oak leaves represents a typical example of the ‘average’ variation of each particular group.

Even out in the vast expanse of the Zodiac the activities of these ether forces, influencing as they do root, leaf, blossom, and fruit development, are of considerable importance for our plants - something which is corroborated by the research and the sowing and planting calendar of Maria Thun.

Ultimately, it is a matter of practice and of developing one’s capacity for "hineinleben" or entering into the language of these living etheric forces whose image is imprinted in the physical appearance of the plant. A true knowledge of these interweaving forces of the earth and of the plant renders gene technology unnecessary. Already in ancient times plant breeding and development that was based on true insight and understanding for the connections between plant, earth and cosmos, was being carried out for the benefit of mankind.

The Author Thomas Link is a forester living and working in Germany. For many years he lived with the question of how to bring renewed life and healing to landscapes in decline. When he came across the work of Georg Wilhelm Schmidt he found the inspiration he needed to explore this theme and apply the principles of biodynamic agriculture to his own work with trees.

He is coming to England this summer and will be leading a five day course entitled "The World of Living Forces". He will be joined by Karin Jarman who is an art therapist. She will work artistically with the theme and help participants to deepen their understanding of this etheric world using the medium of colour and the discipline of painting. It is an introductory course and no previous knowledge or artistic experience is required. "The World of Living Forces" takes place at St. Luke's Medical Centre, Stroud from 27th August to 1st September 2006. Further information Tel. 01453 757436 or email: indigo@phonecoop.coop Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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BEYOND ORGANICS A Part Time Course in Biodynamic Agriculture at Emerson College

by Ian Lawton t is an expression of the conditions in the economic sphere at this time in Great Britain that more and more people out of necessity are choosing to take up a parttime education option. The part-time Steiner Waldorf education courses at Emerson College, which began in 2004, have been booming as a reflection of this. Along side this there is more and more awareness of green issues, questions of sustainability, of nutrition and a continual growth in demand for organically produced food and this has given rise to shortage of biodynamic farmers. The realisation that many wannabe biodynamic farmers have too many commitments to simply up shovel and study fulltime for three years and that many have the basic agricultural knowledge already and just need to reorientate to the biodynamic way of doing things, has given the inspiration to create a one year part-time course that can fill a need in this area.

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The first course will take place over a series of seven weekends and two full weeks running from October 2006 to March 2007. It is primarily designed for those already working in an agricultural or horticultural context, to provide an understanding of the biodynamic way of farming and gardening. Basic knowledge and experience of agriculture is expected. Students will work with Goethean observation of the natural world and come to an understanding of the realm of life forces. The course also will provide a rich understanding of how to work with the rhythms of the farm organism, how to create a balance of soil plant, animal and human elements and how to make and use the biodynamic preparations. There will also be an astronomy component to the course.

The course will be carried by Juergen Schumacher and Arjen Huese, supported by the faculty of Emerson College and other visiting tutors. Juergen was a biodynamic farmer for 15 years on his own farm in Germany. Arjen has run biodynamic market gardens in both Germany and the Netherlands. Both are also course carriers for the full-time Biodynamic Organic Agriculture Training. Arjen's description of how he came to biodynamic horticulture will probably resonate with many who have found their way into biodynamic agriculture.

"First I went to a normal university and all we were doing was cutting plants into pieces and looking under the microscope. Living organisms were only considered at a physical level. When I then encountered biodynamics what made it so interesting to me was

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Star and Furrow 105

that it gives a framework of thought and tools to look at the living aspect of plants. There is so much known about the life forces in biodynamics but not that many people are well informed about it."

"The world needs farmers who don't regards organisms as just bags of genes and proteins. That kind of thinking is very materialistic and has expressed itself in chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and industrial farming right down to genetic engineering. We need to understand and respect the life forces that manifest themselves in plants and animals."

A biodynamic farm is a recycling farm and the ideal farm is able to sustain itself without the need for external resources, in the same way that a healthy human body does not need to be propped up by chemical medicines.

"On the course", says Arjen, "We will help people to understand the balancing of the farm organism in all its aspects. If you have an overwhelming presence of cows you can think of that as being analogous to having a huge digestive system, or if you have too many chickens it would be like having a huge head (nervous system) and a tiny body. So during the year participants will also develop an understanding of the different animal qualities that help to harmonize the farm."

"I think there is, you could say, an archetype of a healthy farm organism but of course you can't just apply the same fixed pattern to your farm wherever you are. You can't just say 20 cows to 30 goats to every 100 chickens and apply that as a healthy balance across the whole world, so we will be helping people to understand the qualities of a particular piece of land, and the wildlife that exists there.

Then they can go away and apply the knowledge anywhere in the world."

The cost of the course is ÂŁ1600 per year, which can be paid in instalments. A limited number of bursaries will be available to applicants who are accepted on the course, but are prevented for financial reasons. If required accommodation and meals are available.

Further details can be obtained from the college website www.emerson.org.uk or on +44 (0)1342 822238

DEMETER MARKET PLACE The following is a list of some of the places in the UK where you can buy Demeter produce. It is the result of a survey sent out to all producers in 2005. It is intended that this will be a regular feature in Star and Furrow and on the BDAA website. If any of the details on the list below have changed since the survey or if you would like to be included in the listing in the next issue, then please contact the BDAA Office (details at front of magazine).

BRISTOL Paul Pieterse Watch Oak Farm - tel:01454 418954 fruit, vegetables or meat available from occasional sales

CLEVELAND Donald Ash Larchfield Market Garden - tel: 01642 579805 vegetables, top fruit, herbs from farm shop

COUNTY TYRONE Martin Sturm Clanabogan - tel: 02882 256111 vegetables, meat, bakery products available by appointment

CUMBRIA Judy Stalker Houker Hall Herbs Riddings Croft - tel: 01229 885313 herbal tinctures by mail order

DEVON Pat Fleming Spitchwick Herbs - tel: 01364 631233 vegetables, herbs available direct Derek Lapworth Lower Velwell - tel: 01364 644010 vegetables from box scheme (full at present)

DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY Joscha Huter Loch Arthur Horticulture - tel: 01387 760544 vegetables, fruit, herbs from farm shop Richard Cunningham Craig Farm - tel: 01644 420636 meat, private sales from farm

EAST LOTHIAN Susannah Aykroyd 24 Boggs Holdings - tel: 01875 340227 veg, fruit, eggs from box scheme, farm shop & farmers’ market

GLOUCESTERSHIRE Kai Lange Oaklands Park Garden - tel: 01594 826735 vegetables, fruit, lamb, herbs from box scheme & wholesale Laurence Dungworth GREEN - tel: 01453 753768 vegetables, fruit, herbs mostly to local cafe only Laurence Dungworth Stroud Community Agriculture - tel: 01453 753768 vegetables, herbs, meat from box scheme (full at present) Henk Reyneke Oaklands Park Farm - tel: 01594 516285 vegetables, meat from box scheme & shop

HAMPSHIRE Sally Viney Harbridge Herbal Clinic - tel: 01425 652233 medicinal herbs available through consultation

HEREFORDSHIRE Elaine Povey The Buzzards - tel: 01568 708941 vegetables, fruit, herbs, meat, eggs from the farm Jane Scotter Fern Verrow - tel: 01981 510288 veg, fruit, herbs, meat by order & Borough Market in London

LANCASHIRE Jenny Gabrysch Hollinwood - tel: 01995 640189 vegetables, fruit, poultry, eggs from farm shop & box

LINCOLNSHIRE

grain available direct

MONMOUTHSHIRE Richard & Sarah Stacey Daren Farm Ltd - tel: 01873 890712 meat, wool from farm shop sales (phone)

NORFOLK David Barker Baker’s Organics - tel: 01263 768966 vegetables, fruit, herbs from box & market David Wrenn Orchard End - tel: 01508 558646 vegetables, herbs from box & market

NORTH YORKSHIRE William Pickard Falcon Farm - tel: 01287 661234 meat from farm shop & box Ben Davies Botton Farm - tel: 01287 661211 meat, milk from farm shop Peter van Viet Botton Walled Garden - tel: 01287 661301 vegetables, soft fruit, herbs, plants from box scheme

PEMBROKESHIRE Andre Kleinjans Plas Dwbl - tel: 01994 410352 vegetables

PERTHSHIRE Anneke Kraakman Corbenic Camphill Community - tel: 01350 723206 fruit, plants, baked goods by box scheme

ROSS & CROMARTY Duncan Ross Poyntzfield Herb Nursery - tel: 01381 610352 herbs, plants, seeds by mail order

RUTLAND Paul Chenery Town Park farm - tel: 01572 724545 herbal medicine by mail order

SUSSEX Linda Beaney Holly Park Farm - tel: 01424 812229 dairy goat milk products from farmers’ markets Peter Brinch Plawhatch Seeds - tel: 01342 826067 seeds mail order from Stormy Hall Seeds only Dorothea Leber Michael Hall School - tel: 01342 825604 vegetables, fruit, herbs from local shops Andre Tranquilini Emerson Garden - tel: 07931 245670 vegetables, fruit, eggs from local shops

WEST LOTHIAN Diana O’Neil Garvald School - tel: 01968 682211 vegetables, herbs

WILTSHIRE Eamonn & Oriana Wilmott The Beeches - tel: 01985 840820 lamb by mail order

WORCESTERSHIRE Charbel Akiki Elms farm - tel: 01905 381420 eggs from box scheme & farmers’ market George Glide Tree House Farm - tel: 01886 880681 beef (hay) - direct

Malcolm Robinson Aura Soma Products Ltd - tel: 01507 533581 Journal of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association

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Elysium Natural Products Ltd Unit 12 Moderna Business Park Mytholmroyd, Halifax, West Yorkshire England HX7 4QQ Tel: 01422 885523 Fax: 01422 884629 E-mail: elysiumproducts@aol.com

FOR ALL YOUR DEMETER NEEDS We have a great range of Demeter Quality products and are adding to our range all the time.

We now have Demeter products coming in from all over Europe, so far we have great partnerships with companies from Holland, Germany, Belgium and Italy.

For more Information on our products and ranges please do not hesitate to contact us on 01422 885523 or you can check out our new web-site, www.elysium-naturalproducts.co.uk

A WHOLE WORLD OF ORGANIC/ DEMETER BABY FOOD RIGHT HERE! Guaranteed no GMO ingredients No added sugar No added table salt No added Flavours No added colours No added preservatives

For more Information contact Elysium Natural Products

WHOLESOME FOOD CONFERENCE Green & Away Eco-conference Centre Glos, 11-13th August

NETHERFIELD FARM GUEST HOUSE & COTTAGES Lochanhead, Dumfries DG2 8JE Tel: 01387 730217 Contact: Jimmy & Pauline Anderson www.netherfieldguesthouse.co.uk BOTHY COTTAGE: sunny, spacious and open plan with separate kitchen. A harmonious and beautiful space. Sleeps 2

Organised by:

Good Garderners’ Association Soil Association Wholesome Food Association and Edcombe Farm.

There will workshops and discussions ranging from how to get started in veg/meat box schemes, farm shops and farmers’ markets to how to ensure greater mineral uptake for healthy plants. Laurence Dungworth, biodynamic grower and council member of the BioDynamic Agricultural Association, will be co-leading a workshop on the physical and spiritual aspects of human nutrition.

For details visit www.wholesome-food.org.uk/conference.html

STABLE COTTAGE: unusual and attractive conversion with a balcony bedroom, lovely colours and very cozy. Sleeps 2 Both cottages have wood stoves, central heating and all facilities provided. £195-£250pw (1 month : 15% reduction) The guesthouse is vegetarian and the farm & garden are Demeter registered ( to bring healing to the earth and grow food plants of nutritious quality; bordering the Galloway hills it has many fine views).The aim is to offer rest, care and rejuvenation with good food.

There is a beautiful garden rich in wild life, a comfortable sunny lounge with wood stove and a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Vegetarian organic meals are cooked with imagination using home grown fruit & vegetables.

Hauschka Rhythmical massage is available.

Prices: £22.50 - £25.00 pppn (5 days: 15% discount) Meals: £5.00/£8.50

ADVERTISE IN THE STAR & FURROW! Star and Furrow reaches not only the membership of over 1000 people, it is also read by a wider audience in the organic movement and in educational institutions around the country and abroad.

The advertising rates are as follows: The charge for small advertisement is 12p per word for members of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association and 25p per word for nonmembers.The charges for display advertisements are in the box opposite.

Cheques and money orders should be made out to the Biodynamic Agricultural Association or BDAA. Foreign advertisers are requested to pay by international money order.

The closing dates are: 1st April for the Summer issue and 1st October for the Winter issue.

Advertisements not received and paid for by these dates may not be accepted.

Please send advertisements to the BDAA Office.

Back cover outside: Back cover inside: Full page Half page Quarter page Eighth page Inserts per 1000 (all prices inclusive of

£300 £200 £200 £100 £50 £25 £65 VAT)

Appeal www.biodynamic.org.uk needs your support!

The BDAA website has served us well for the past 7 years and is now desperately in need of a major overhaul. The site was set up in 1999 and has grown and developed to try and meet the demands of the ever changing situation in agriculture. It is often the first port of call for enquirers, journalists and researchers. On the current site you can find news, calendar of events, job adverts, annual reports, information leaflets, Demeter documents, the Demeter Marketplace and much more.

In April and May this year we were getting an average of 1000 'hits' per day and the site has achieved a high rating with the Google search engine.

In developing the website we need to redesign the whole site so that all the pages are better integrated and it will be easier to find your way around.

We want to: Change the format (colouring, font and design) in order to make it clearer and easier to read crisper and easier to read Simplify the navigation so that it easier to find what you want Develop the Demeter marketplace so that the public is kept up to date about where to buy Demeter produce Set up online membership application Make it possible to buy books online Start a Forum for Producers/Processors/Distributors to communicate their needs with each other increase the number of documents to give easier access to members and enquirers For this development we are needing to raise £3000 over the next 6 months If you can help please contact: The Secretary, The Biodynamic Agricultural Association (BDAA), Painswick Inn Project, Gloucester Street, Stroud, Glos GL5 1QG Tel/Fax: 01453 759501 or Email: office@biodynamic.org.uk

New Books from the BDAA Please post your orders and payment to the BDAA Office (NB all prices are plus 15% P&P) Betwixt Heaven & Earth, Brian Keats £12 A compendium of essays pertaining to the Earth as a part of the Living Cosmos.

Includes a supplement to the Biodynamic Planting Calendars Biodynamic Growing Guide: Healthcare for Earth & Humanity, Brian Keats & Stefan Mager £8 6 A4 pages Full Colour - Packed full of info on : The Big Picture, Enhancing Nutrition, Using BD Preparations, Increasing Soil & Atmospheric Vitality, Perpetual Tool for Sun & Moon Rhythms, Conscious awareness of Universal Processes.

The Biodynamic Food & Cookbook: Real Nutrition that doesn’t cost the earth, Wendy Cook £18.99 Features over 150 delicious seasonal recipes and includes: information on Biodynamic Agriculture, nutrition, ethics of modern food culture plus practical info on methods of cooking, getting started, cooking tips and what ingredients to stock in your larder.

Principles of BD Spray & Compost Preparations, M Klett £6.99 Combining 2 booklets from the IBIG series, Klett provides a fascinating overview of the history of agriculture, then goes on to discuss the practicalities of spray & compost preparations and the philosophy behind them. An essential read for any BD gardener or farmer who wants to understand the background to core BD techniques.

Back Garden Seed Saving: Keeping our Vegetable Heritage Alive, Sue Strickland £12.99 The latest strains of runner beans may give long stringless pods, but will they crop well on a cold windswept site? Dwarf peas may be the easiest to grow commercially, but you will still find the six foot types in many gardens – they look attractive, crop for longer and taste “like peas used to taste”. Whatever the benefits of modern hybrids, old varieties still have much to offer gardeners.

In this book you can find out about some of the vegetable varieties no longer found in the seed catalogues, and others that are there now but may not be for much longer. It introduces you to some of the gardeners who grow such varieties, their tales and tips and their infectious enthusiasm. Most importantly it gives easy to follow crop-by-crop guidelines to help you save seed for yourself.