Barefoot Biodynamics

How Cows, Compost, and Community Help Us Understand Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course, by Jeff Poppen

Biodynamics is a set of farming practices that mean many different things to many different people. In one sense, it is a subset of the larger organic/ecological/regenerative farming movement that has developed over the past hundred years. Alternatively, it is a distinct movement with its own unique history — a history that this year is exactly a hundred years old, tracing its lineage to the agriculture lectures given by Rudolf Steiner at Dornach, Germany, in 1924. 

While the results of biodynamics are undeniable — it works — the big question is whether it works because it incorporates a number of solid ecological principles or because of its more quirky methods. A related question is how much one must believe in Rudolph Steiner’s every teaching to truly be a biodynamic farmer.

Barefoot Biodynamics by Jeff Poppen does a fine job of explaining what Steiner actually said and making the case for biodynamic practices. While many growers will always be uncomfortable with some aspects of biodynamics, Poppen’s presentation is one of the most undogmatic, winsome and inspiring.

Poppen is a great storyteller, and much of the book is simply his tale of how, over his many decades of farming, he came to understand and appreciate Steiner’s agriculture lectures. The first chapters are organized around what he views as the most noteworthy concepts from the lectures. These include the role of nitrogen as a result of agriculture instead of as an input, the importance of self-sufficiency on the farm, the need farmers have for community, and the significance of humus.

Poppen emphasizes Steiner’s commendation that farmers in the 1920s — at the birth of the age of chemical-heavy farming — should “go on manuring as before.” “As before” means the pre-chemical methods, which had worked for so long. So Poppen includes an extended section of the book on lessons he learned from reading old books on farming. He also emphasizes reading the book of nature — the instinctual and learned ability of farmers to observe and adapt.

The book culminates with a distillation of Steiner’s agriculture course — a chapter Poppen names “Agriculture, Simplified.” This is actually the combined decades-long effort of Poppen and fellow biodynamic expert Hugh Lovell. For those wishing the Cliff Notes version before trying to wade through an English translation of the entire lectures, this is an excellent place to start.

Poppen does his best to interpret some of the more esoteric beliefs underlying biodynamics — the “personalities” of different elements, the astrological aspects of energy, the biodynamic preparations, etc. Full acceptance of these aspects of biodynamics gets complicated — even impossible — for those with more orthodox Christian theological commitments, but while Poppen doesn’t directly address this, he seems to be on the much less dogmatic side of biodynamic practitioners — i.e., whether Steiner’s anthroposophical beliefs are true or not, this is a good, healthy way to farm. As Poppen says, “Because biodynamics is based on experimenting with guiding lines, there are no dogmatic rules.”

For those looking for an introduction to biodynamics — or simply to read about one person’s experience working within its guidelines for a lifetime — Barefoot Biodynamics is a great place to start.