Farm Individuality – New Perspective for Urban Farm Growers

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Harvest Magazine Article – Spring 2018

Farm individuality is an important principle in biodynamic food growing. Individuality can also be applied in urban food growing spaces of any scale, but there are some changes needed in how to work with individuality, some new perspectives. Article by Peter Kearney.

I had the pleasure of running a workshop recently at the global centre for biodynamics in Dornach, Switzerland at the Goetheanum. It was the 2018 international biodynamic conference. The workshop I ran was focused on working with biodynamic preparations in the urban food growing context. Farm individuality was discussed and a number of the perspectives described below evolved from our conversations. 

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Farm Identity

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Harvest Magazine Article – Spring 2018

Biodynamic farmers frequently talk about the need to consider the farm as an individuality or organism – but why is this important, and what does it mean? In a series of articles, this issue of Harvests explores that concept from multiple perspectives.

Here, long-time biodynamic practitioner and guide Peter Bacchus explores the original foundations underpinning the concept of farm as organism.

Ninety-four years ago, biodynamic agriculture was born at a conference in what is now northeastern Germany. It is now 96 years since the first biodynamic preparation was made and demonstrated by Dr Rudolf Steiner. When the first biodynamic course was given, it was a series of lectures given to mostly farmers and was called Lectures for the spiritual renewal of agriculture.

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Farming Empathy

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Harvest Magazine Article – Spring 2018

Dairy farmer Laura Beck describes how farm individuality arises out of a farmer’s integration with her animals, land and community.

I’ve been playing with the idea of what farm individuality means for a few years now and letting the idea slowly evolve in my head and my senses.

When I first started this farm almost five years ago, I was whirring with the different, varied and many needs to get the farm and the business up and running. I didn’t give myself much space to sit and be present in the farm. But, slowly over the years, the daily rhythm has crept into the pulse of my body and there are times that I can see things in a new, fresh way. These times happen mostly when I am entirely present with the cows that live on the farm.

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