Grasping the whole – how biodynamic farmers think and act
Holism, in other words looking at the whole, is one of the key concepts in biodynamic agriculture. Consequently, every agricultural enterprise is seen as an individual organism in which all the different parts interact with each other. This research project is a qualitative study by Sofi Gerber. The researcher, from the Skillebyholm Center for Biodynamic Cultivation in Sweden, asks how a holistic approach of this kind functions in practice and how the necessary faculties can be acquired. Her hypothesis states that biodynamic farmers possess valuable, often implicit knowledge for recognising and managing a range of interrelated life processes. While many linear agricultural systems merely aim to optimise the inputs and outputs, biodynamic farmers deal with closed-loop systems. The study comprises observations of daily farming tasks on biodynamically managed farms and conversations and interviews with Swedish farmers.
Summary
An agricultural organism contains more than simply plant and animal products. The biodynamic approach attempts to understand how individual sub-systems like soil, plants, compost, animals and the surrounding countryside interact with each other. Biodynamics aims to manage resources in a circular economy with minimal imports of feed and manure. This holistic view is based on the belief that the whole is more than the sum of its separate parts. Research on both conventional and biodynamic agriculture often overlooks this standpoint in favour of reductionist approaches.
In this study, many farmers emphasised the importance of developing good powers of observation. One of the statements is, "Farmers' knowledge is found in their boots", meaning that you need to walk through the fields – sometimes without doing any actual work but simply looking – in order to understand how best to cultivate them. This may entail adopting roundabout ways in order to develop a better sense for the course of the seasons and the processes of nature around the farm. Observations like these, that are more than mere collections of information, can build a better understanding and a closer relationship between the farmer and the farm.
Most biodynamic farmers view themselves as part of the agricultural organism and feel united with this complex entity that exists through mutual cooperation. Instead of working out the annual crop rotations at a desk and transferring them to the fields, it is more like a complex interplay between the farmers, their personal experience, the condition of the fields and their knowledge of past rotations, soil conditions and other factors. The crop rotation is produced in a dynamic cooperative process and is unique to every farm. It is not imposed on the farm but results from its previous history.
Conclusion
Improved powers of observation lead to a continuous interaction with the farm and can help to enhance process-oriented thinking and to manage the identified life processes. The concept of cause and effect which is often focussed on the end product is then contrasted with an understanding of processes and their close interconnection. This takes account of both the individual plant and the agricultural organism as a whole. This interlinked, process-oriented thinking cannot be achieved by sitting on a tractor. It is cultivated – in a similar way to the plants and animals – through many years of close interaction with the prevailing conditions.
Details of the original study
Author: Gerber, Sofi
Title: Grasping the Whole – Biodynamic Hermeneutical Knowledge
Journal: unpublished to date
This study by Sofi Gerber was presented at the Biodynamic Research Conference 2021 (BDRC 2021). The complete conference proceedings with all the abstracts from the BDRC 2021 were published on the Section for Agriculture's research website.