Biodynamic agriculture: a horn of plenty?
Swiss agricultural research is opening up new perspectives. Forty-six years of scientific research in agriculture make it clear: biodynamic farming is a sustainable source of abundance, diversity and life. Awarded the Demeter label, it is also the most climate-friendly form of agriculture.
These research results are the product of close collaboration between the Swiss Federal Research Institute (Agroscope), the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), farmers and other stakeholders in Swiss agriculture. Its aim: to scientifically and thoroughly examine the long-term effects of various organic and conventional farming systems (DOK trial).
The numbers speak for biodynamics
After 46 years, the results are in. They are astounding. The figures challenge the previously accepted patterns of thought. Compared to conventional farming, biodynamic agriculture not only boosts the diversity of the accompanying flora by 74 percent, but also increases the number of microorganisms by 49 percent, with 71 percent more activity, 50 percent more mobilisation of nutrients and, lastly, 16 percent more humus. In summary, the measurements show that with biodynamic agriculture, soil fertility has increased by 46 percent overall. This is enormous and scientifically proven. A horn of plenty?
Let's broaden our view and imagine a typical mixed farm with livestock, 40 hectares in size – an average size, as many of them exist in Switzerland. When managed biodynamically, a farm like this rarely needs to buy additional feed or fertiliser of any kind from outside. The fertiliser comes from the manure of the farm's own cows, supported by the preparations that constitute biodynamic agriculture.
160,000kg of food from light and earth
What does a 40-hectare farm like this produce? Of course, the answer depends on the individual situation, but on average we can assume about four tonnes per hectare, e.g. 120,000 litres of milk, 20,000kg of grain, 15,000kg of potatoes, vegetables and fruit, and 5000kg of meat. That is 160 tonnes. Let us keep this image in mind: year after year, 160,000kg of products leave the farm and are sold to provide food for people.
Where does this production come from? One thing is certain: on the whole, it is not happening at the expense of the soil, even if this requires further research. On the contrary, the quality of the soil improves. The figures mentioned above show how fertility and humus content have increased with biodynamic agriculture, and this with stable yields. A horn of plenty!
The more mineral fertiliser, the more lifeless the soil
In contrast, the long-term trial makes something clear. Where conventional agriculture only uses mineral fertilisers, the more fertiliser is added in mineral form, the poorer and lifeless the soil becomes. The figures are damning: since the DOK trial began, 10 percent of the humus has disappeared. An unseen devastation is taking place here. And this is happening worldwide. Soil is increasingly being turned into a substrate that serves only as a base for mineral fertiliser. Its life is gradually being stolen, not to mention the pollution of the seepage water with fertilisers and pesticides and inevitably also of the resulting groundwater.
The results of the DOK trial call for a rethink in agriculture. They show that the state of knowledge behind conventional fertilisation methods is insufficient to understand life and its role in agricultural production. The biological processes must be given much more attention. According to this study, a new, expanded view that includes life and its relationship with the wider cosmic environment is necessary.
Marc Desaules, physicist and entrepreneur, L'Aubier, Montezillon
