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Biodynamic® agriculture is a method of . BIODYNAMIC METHOD OF FARMING Biodynamic agriculture conceives of the farm as an organism, a self-contained entity with its own individuality. "Emphasis is placed on the integration of crops and livestock, recycling of nutrients, maintenance of soil, and the health and well being of crops and animals; the farmer too is part of the whole." Cover crops, green manures and crop rotations are used extensively. The approach also attempts to consider celestial influences on soil and plant development and to revitalize the farm, its products, and its inhabitants. Biodynamic preparations Steiner prescribed eight different preparations to aid Fertilization which are allowed for use in biodynamic agriculture, and gave great details of how these were to be prepared. The prepared substances are numbered 500 through 507, where the first two are used for preparing fields whereas the latter six are used for making Compost . Field preparations Field preparations, for stimulating humus formation:
Both 500 and 501 are used on fields by stirring about one teaspoon of the contents of a horn in 40-60 litres of water for an hour and whirling it in different directions every second minute. Compost preparations Compost preparations, used for preparing compost, employ herbs which are frequently used in medicinal remedies:
One to three grams (a teaspoon) of each preparation is added to a dung heap by digging 50 cm deep holes with a distance of 2 meters from each other, except for the 507 preparation, which is stirred into 5 litres of water and sprayed over the entire compost surface. All preparations are thus used in Homeopathic quantities, and the only intent is to strengthen the life forces of the farm. Treatment of pests and weeds Biodynamic agriculture sees the basis of pest and disease control arising from a strong healthy balanced farm organism. Where this is not yet achieved it uses techniques analogous to fertilization for Pest Control and Weed Control . Most of these techniques include using the ashes of a pest or weed that has been trapped or picked from the fields and burnt. Steiner saw weeds and plant vulnerability to pests as a result of imbalances in the soil.
STUDIES OF EFFICACY Studies have compared biodynamic farming methods to both other organic methods and to conventional methods. Yields and soil quality have generally been found to differ little from those of other methods of organic farming, significantly from conventional farming methods.
HISTORY The development of biodynamic agriculture began in 1924 with a series of eight lectures on agriculture given by Rudolf Steiner at Schloss Koberwitz in what was then Silesia , Germany , (now in Poland close to Wrocław ). The course was held in response to a request by farmers who noticed degraded soil conditions and a deterioration in the health and quality of crops and livestock resulting from the use of chemical fertilizers. An agricultural research group was subsequently formed to test the effects of biodynamic methods on the life and health of soil, plants and animals. In the U.S., the Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association, Inc. was founded in 1938 as a New York state corporation. In Australia the first biodynamic preparations were made by Ernesto Genoni in Melbourne in 1927 and by Bob Williams in Sydney in 1939 . Since the 1950s research work has continued at the Biodynamic Research Institute (BDRI) in Powelltown, near Melbourne Australia under the direction of Alex Podolinsky . Today biodynamics is practiced in more than 50 countries worldwide. Trademark protection of term biodynamic The term ''Biodynamic'' is a trademark held by the Demeter association of biodynamic farmers for the purpose of maintaining production standards used both in farming and processing foodstuffs. The trademark is intended to protect both the consumer and the producers of biodynamic produce. Demeter International is an organization of member countries; each country has its own Demeter organization which is required to meet international production standards (but can also exceed them). The original Demeter organization was founded in 1928 ; the U.S. Demeter Association was formed in the 1980's and certified its first farm in 1982 . In France Biodivin certifies Biodynamic Wine . New approaches using biodynamic principles There are developments to the traditional approach to biodynamics, some of which are not certified by Demeter , that employ some unique agricultural techniques, including those of Hugh Lovel, Greg Willis, Enzo Nastati and Glen Atkinson. These are not universally accepted within the biodynamic movement. Glen Atkinson's BD preparation products are accepted for use with Demeter trademarks and their Demeter registration is pending in Europe. RELATED Ehrenfried Pfeiffer , a biochemist prominent in the early development of biodynamic preparations, developed a process for the bacterial conversion of municipal waste into compost usable in agriculture. The process was first used on a commercial scale in Oakland , California in the early 1950s.A. W. Martinez, ''The City With Golden Garbage'' , Collier's Magazine, May 31, 1952 CONTROVERSY Opponents of Biodynamic agriculture argue that similar or equal results can be obtained using standard Organic Farming principles and that the biodynamic preparations more resemble Alchemy or Magic akin to Geomancy .Peter Treue, "Blut und Bohnen: Der Paradigmenwechsel im Künast-Ministerium ersetzt Wissenschaft durch Okkultismus (Blood and Beans: The paradigm shift in the (Renate) Künast (Consumer) Ministry (Green party) replaces science with occultism)", ''FAZ, Die Gegenwart'', 61: 12 (13 März 2002). Reprint in German NOTES REFERENCES
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