With school about to start I am reminded of my favorite question, "How did you spend your summer vacation?" I spent mine researching, exploring and photographing farms. Walking deep in dirt, up hills and down, over bridges and through fields usually wearing the wrong shoes. I am learning how to be a farm girl. My kind friends who hosted my visits taught me much about the trials and tribulations of farm life. It is not an easy life but most say they would not trade it for another lifestyle.
I am in awe of nature and its cycles. This summer I especially enjoyed learning about the philosophy of biodynamic farming. Biodynamics is rooted in the work of philospher and scientist Rudolf Steiner, whose 1924 lectures to farmers influenced the organic farming movement. Biodynamic agriculture goes one step further than organic farming in that it treats soil, animals and crops as a single system, intended to restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony. This principle emphasizes that humans have a responsibility for the development of their ecological and social environment. The prime objective is always to encourage healthy conditions for soil fertility, plant and animal health, and product quality. The farmer seeks to support the forces of nature that lead to healthy crops, and rejects farm managment practices that damages the environment, soil, plant, animal, or human health. With this practice the farm is a self-sustaining entity. Biodynamic farming has been found to be more resiliant to environmental challenges and to be more energy efficient, increasingly important in the face of climate change and population growth. I have a great amount of respect for the farmers taking on this method. We need to get back to our roots and treat our land, animals and produce with the respect they deserve. Please support biodynamic farmers in your area by buying their produce at farmers markets or your local market. Most farms take volunteers and will give tours. Learn more about this type of farming and make it a part of your life.
A summer vacation well spent.