The Biodynamic Association
The Biodynamic Association (formerly the Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association, then the North American Biodynamic Association) is a United States-based company that promotes Biodynamic agriculture system through educational and research programs and has headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
History
Biodynamic agriculture was inaugurated in 1924 by Austrian scientist Rudolf Steiner.[1] It is the oldest, non-chemical agricultural movement and pre-dates organic agriculture by some twenty years. Beginning in 1926, American farmers and gardeners joined the effort to test and promulgate Steiner's agricultural ideas.[2] By 1938 there were 39 Americans who had joined this international effort, with some reading Steiner's work in the English translation and others in the German original.[2]
The Association was formed in 1938 in New York state with the support of Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, a disciple of Rudolf Steiner, when he immigrated to the U.S.[3] It is organized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Purpose
The Association is a non-profit, membership organization and is open to the public. It has an educational focus and conducts conferences, workshops and seminars; publishes books and a quarterly journal, Biodynamics; and supports regional, grass-roots membership groups. It provides several booklets with specific instructions on biodynamic methods, including the biodynamic preparations and composting.[4]
References
- Paull, John (2011). "Attending the First Organic Agriculture Course: Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture Course at Koberwitz, 1924". European Journal of Social Sciences. 21 (1): 64–70.
- Paull, John (2019) The Pioneers of Biodynamics in USA: The Early Milestones of Organic Agriculture in the United States, American Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 6(2):89-94.
- A.D. Paschoal, "Sustainable Agriculture: An Increasing Worldwide Concern and Reality", presented at Second International Conference on Kyusei Nature Farming, São Paulo, Brazil (October 1991).Conference presentation Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Steve Diver, Biodynamic Farming & Compost Preparation, Alternative Farming Systems Guide: ATTRA, February 1999. Document text Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine