What’s Next in Organic: Part 2, Biodynamic Agriculture

In Part 1 of our blog series, we discussed regenerative agriculture which emphasizes conservation tillage, not yet widely used in organic systems, as a practice integral to soil-carbon sequestration.  In part 2 of “What’s Next in Organic”, we focus on Biodynamic agriculture.

Biodynamic agriculture an ecological farming system developed in Europe in the 1920s that views the farm as a self-contained and self-sustaining organism. The health and well-being of the farm animals, the farmer, the farm, and the Earth are all viewed as integral parts that make up the whole. A fully mature Biodynamic farm is self-sufficient, producing everything it needs to perpetuate itself, without external inputs. Like Regenerative farmers, Biodynamic farmers must meet the USDA’s National Organic Program standard as a base

Some of the practices of Biodynamic farming may seem esoteric, such as the use of homeopathically diluted plant materials as sprays and the timing of planting and harvesting by the phases of the moon, but the results speak for themselves: renowned flavor and quality, and healthy soils that produce disease- and drought-resistant crops.