Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Worldwide Research
In the 1920s, Austrian-born philosopher Rudolf Steiner began teaching an
integrated approach to farming that came to be called biodynamic agricul-
ture. His approach emphasized the integration and harmony among soils,
crops, and animals. Steiner's recommended practices included the use of
composts, manures, and herbal preparations, with the goal of creating farms
that were holistic, self-nourishing organisms. Today we refer to such prac-
tices as system or ecological approaches, and they are at the forefront of or-
ganic research.
Building on Sir Albert's teachings, Lady Eve Balfour began the Haughley
Experiment in England in 1939 to test the claims of organic farming advoc-
ates and fill in the gaps in knowledge of how such systems worked. This re-
markably well-designed ecological experiment was conducted on farm-scale
plantings. The experiments included three side-by-side sections of land, each
large enough to operate a full farm rotation. The study examined the food
chains involved on a farm — soil, plant, animal, and back to the soil through
many crop successions and generations of plants and animals. The goal, ac-
cording to Lady Balfour, was to determine “interdependences between soil,
plant and animal, and also any cumulative effects could manifest.” Lady
Balfour described her work in the topic
The Living Soil
, which helped lead
to the formation of the organic advocacy group The Soil Association in the
United Kingdom.
Japanese microbiologist and plant pathologist Masanobu Fukuoka turned
from “scientific agriculture” to “natural farming,” which he considered went
one step further than organic practices. Growing cover crops, mulching with
native vegetation, not using tillage, and integrating crops and livestock were
among his recommended practices. His topics
One Straw Revolution
(1978)
and
The Natural Way of Farming
(1985) are classic texts in the organic
movement.
In the United States, J. I. Rodale became convinced of the truth and im-
portance of the work done by Sir Albert and Lady Balfour and began pub-
lishing
Organic Farming and Gardening
magazine. In 1947, the Soil and
