The foundations for Biodynamic farming combine intentionality with the concept of your farm as a unique integrated organism. That includes the farmers. A guiding principle is to bring as few inputs as possible that are not produced on your farm. That’s our goal.

In January, the Troon Vineyard team spent two days planning—only planning. The entire farm team focused on being better farmers and stewards of our land. Last Friday, the team took time to review progress. In our hands during all these planning sessions were our Biodynamic calendars. Our planning was focused on both making and applying the Biodynamic preparations. Informed by our calendars, we made our plans.

I have practiced Biodynamic farming since 2018 and aspired to it for years before that. Few types of agriculture are more misunderstood, and, to a large extent, that's the fault of the Biodynamic community. Community is not the right word, as Biodynamic practitioners are a diverse group ranging from full-on spiritual anthroposophists to those who have moved forward beyond Rudolf Steiner’s original agriculture lectures and believe there is more science than spirit in how Biodynamic works. Apparently, none of us is doing a good job of communication.

I cringe when reading articles about Biodynamic farming. One oft-repeated misunderstanding is that we bury cow horns throughout the vineyard. We don’t. It is difficult to explain a way of thinking, which is what Biodynamics is in daily practice. Biodynamic farming is both a philosophy and a discipline. The breakdown between the two depends on the farmer.

The discipline is following a plan to achieve your goals. That means working within the Biodynamic calendar as much as Mother Nature allows. Set your schedules for making and applying the Biodynamic Preparations. You always have to be ahead of any problems as there are no quick fix chemicals to correct your mistakes. You have to plan, plan, and plan some more and then be ready to change course as conditions change.

The philosophy connects with life on your farm. From the birds in the skies to the red wigglers in the soil and all the microbiology in between, there is much they have to teach us. It is our job to learn how to listen. Humans are not good listeners. We want to do something — take command. Instead of observing and learning how natural systems work, like our ancestors, we want to impose our will on nature. This has not been a good strategy and we are losing the battle.

In the May 2nd episode of Science Friday, astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson discusses, “Are There Things That We Know We Can’t Know.” Anyone who has farmed Biodynamically would readily agree. At Troon Vineyard, we are committed to science. We do soil studies, analyze our plants and wines using the most modern techniques and finest laboratories. But all that data cannot answer all our questions. Sometimes the farmer’s best tool is their own eyes — as someone said, the best fertilizer for a vineyard is the farmer’s footsteps. Biodynamic farming weaves science, intention, and observation into a system that complements nature rather than trying to dominate it.

Humans have the illusion that they control nature when we are simply part of it. Our goal as Biodynamic farmers is to honor and learn from what we don’t know and what we do. Then, as we learn, we grow our practice of Biodynamics. Steiner was a lens that refocused past wisdom as an antidote to the explosion in the use of agricultural chemicals after the First World War. Farmers were getting sick and turned to Steiner to explore a more natural connection with nature. His last instruction in the Agriculture Course he presented in 1924 was that this was just the beginning, and we were to take his ideas, research them, and build on them. Biodynamics was never meant to be dogma.

Part of the discipline required is certification. The rigors of the certification process sharpen your practice of Biodynamics. Becoming certified requires thought, planning, and discipline on the part of the farmer. Demeter certification guarantees to the consumer that what they are buying is authentic and in alignment with their own beliefs and desires.

In this episode of Troon Talk, we dig deeply into Demeter Biodynamic Certification with Demeter’s director of certification Evrett Lunquist. Evrett speaks eloquently, based on deep reflection, on what it means to be a Biodynamic farmer and the importance of becoming certified. I have talked with few people more adept at explaining the least understood aspects of Biodynamic practices. His views on how they can be woven together with modern agricultural science to make Biodynamics more valuable than ever, both for the farmer and the Earth.