September 05, 2020

Allen Clements - An Introduction to Biodynamic Agriculture

45 minutes

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My guest today is Allen Clements, a permaculture practitioner who, when we recorded this interview in January, 2020, was completing his certification in Biodynamic Agriculture at the Pfeiffer Center in Spring Valley, New York.

I’ve been intrigued by biodynamic agriculture as a farming practice since first hearing about the growth of biodynamic wineries in Sonoma Valley, California. How did Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy impact the way we managed the land? How does Biodynamic Agriculture differ from permaculture or organic ag? And, what was the deal with the preparations, like stuffing a cow horn full of manure and burying it in a field?

Thankfully, I knew of Allen Clements through our local permaculture community and saw that he’d posted some info about biodynamic agriculture to his Instagram feed. Reading some of his blog entries, he was just getting started with all of this, so seemed like the perfect person for me to sit down with, in person, to explore these ideas. Together, we could capture his perspective as a relatively new practitioner, and my bewilderment as someone with only a passing familiarity with the name, let alone the practices.

You can find Allen’s at his blog ForestRancher.wordpress.com, on Instagram @forestranchregenerative, and his YouTube channel, Forest Ranch Regenerative. On his channel, you’ll also find an interview he recorded with me about The Permaculture Podcast.

As you can hear in this interview, I am skeptical of some aspects of biodynamic agriculture, but also convinced that there is something to these practices that leads to improved landscapes and healthy plants. Is it in planting and harvesting according to the calendar, mindful of the root, fruit, leaf, and flower days? Do the preparations offer the nutritional density missing in conventional, and even organic agriculture? Or do the changes come from the attention and connection to the land found by engaging with these practices?

I don’t know yet but would like to learn more about the origins, efficacy, and deeper practices. Not just the preparations, but also how the calendar is calculated. Why farmers chose to convert to biodynamic agriculture (Is to restore degraded land? As a branding opportunity? To increase returns?) and also to hear how Biodynamic Agriculture has grown from the ideas set out by the founder, Rudolph Steiner, a century ago.

If you’d like me to air this exploration on the show and join me through this period of discovery, let me know and I’ll produce more episodes on Biodynamic Agriculture. Also, do you currently practice biodynamic agriculture? What are your thoughts? What would you like to learn more about? Or do you see this as a system incompatible with permaculture?

Let me know.

Leave a comment in the show notes, send me an email: The Permaculture Podcast.

From here, the next interview is a conversation with Nigel Palmer, to discuss his work creating hyper-local soil amendments from mineral and biological ferments and extracts.

Until the next time, spend each day considering your preparations while taking care of Earth, your self, and each other.

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By Scott Mann

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