Biodynamic farming is on the rise – but how effective is this alternative agricultural practice?

National retailers like Whole Foods are stocking more biodynamic brands, but horticultural critics continue to question biodynamic’s unconventional methods

When John Chester, a filmmaker from California, quit his job to become a farmer, he didn’t do it out of a desire to “feed the world”. Instead, he says: “I’m trying to feed my neighbors – and if everyone did that, we would be able to replicate this.”

He is referring to Apricot Lane Farms, a 213-acre biodynamic and organic farm in Moorpark, California, that Chester runs with his wife, Molly. The couple nurtures 100 different types of vegetables, 75 varieties of stone fruit, and countless animal residents: Scottish highland cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, ducks, hens, horses and livestock dogs. Last year, Apricot Lane Farms was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation and the North American Butterfly Association for supporting so much wildlife – not a recognition typically given to farms.

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Apricot Lane is part of a growing movement in biodynamic farming. The number of biodynamic farms in the US is rapidly increasing, according to Elizabeth Candelario, co-director of Demeter USA, the nonprofit certifier of biodynamic farms and consumer products in the US. According to Demeter, the total acreage for biodynamic farming in the US increased by 16% last year, totaling 21,791 acres.

Earlier this year, Demeter began collecting topsoil samples from biodynamic farms. This will help the organization determine if the soil quality is improving year after year on certified biodynamic farms. According to Candelario, Demeter is the only national farming organization implementing this practice. “This will provide a tool for farmers who continue to focus on building healthy soil, and give voice to power about biodynamic agriculture’s role in mitigating the impacts of climate change,” she says.

So what is biodynamic farming, and what distinguishes it from organic? Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, a controversial public figure, introduced biodynamic principles by encouraging farmers to look to the cosmos before planting and harvesting crops. The biodynamic calendar is based on the positioning of the stars and the moon. While many biodynamic farmers utilize the lunar calendar, it is not a requirement for Demeter certification.

However, the certification does include Steiner’s nine so-called “preparations” made from herbs, mineral substances and animal manures that are turned into field sprays and compost. One of the farming methods championed by Steiner involves taking cow manure, packing into a cow horn and burying it underground over winter. It is then mixed with water and applied to the soil – biodynamic followers believe this compound can stimulate root growth.

“Cow manure is a dense nutrient rich material,” Candelario says. “When placed in a cow horn under the ground, where the temperature is constant throughout the winter, the manure ferments much like a sourdough inoculate, or a kombucha culture, ferments. When it is exhumed, the material looks like chocolate and has a beautiful earthy aroma. This inoculate is then added to water and broadcast on soil, where it directly impacts the microbial life of that soil.”

Many horticultural academics remain skeptical about Steiner’s methods, which they argue were not developed through scientific methodology, but through mysticism.

Because these methods cannot be tested and validated, and no evidence exists to prove these preparations improve plant or soil quality, horticultural academics argue that “any effect attributed to biodynamic preparations is a matter of belief, not of fact”.

“The movement is controversial because at its core it is a philosophy, not a science,” says Linda Chalker-Scott, associate professor and urban horticulturist at the Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems at Washington State University. “It is an entanglement of some good, science-based organic practices with alchemy, astrology, and homeopathy. As long as biodynamic preparations continue to be at the heart of the movement, it will continue to be questioned by the scientific community.”