Biodynamics Journal Moving to Quarterly Publication

We are pleased to announce that the Biodynamics journal will be moving to quarterly publication, starting this fall. Biodynamic Association members will receive news, information, and stories twice as often, and in a more accessible and compact form. The journal will continue to share informative and thought-provoking articles, news, and stories from across the spectrum of the biodynamic community.

A benefit of membership in the Association, Biodynamics has a long history (since 1941) as one of the preeminent publications on biodynamic farming and gardening in the world. Online access for the most recent two years, plus supplementary materials, is available to BDA members.

BDA Membership Survey

We'd like to hear from you! If you are a BDA member, or thinking of joining, please take this brief, anonymous survey to help us better understand what is presently valuable and meaningful to you about BDA membership.

In Memory of Andrew Lorand

By Robert Karp: With the passing of Andrew Christopher Lorand, I feel that a mighty and fiery spirit has left the earth and moved his field of action to the spiritual world where I am confident he will continue glow forth and shine fresh impulses into the biodynamic community and beyond. Andrew was an important mentor, colleague and friend to me and so many in the biodynamic community. Read more memories of Andrew and selected articles from the Biodynamics journal. We welcome further contributions.

Biodynamic Webinar Series

Learn from top biodynamic educators from the comfort of your home through interactive webinars. Space is limited in these classes, so sign up now to reserve your spot!

• Biodynamic Beekeeping: Winter Preparation — Thursday, August 17, with Alex Tuchman
• Biodynamic Principles and Practices — Wednesday, August 30, with Thea Maria Carlson *Free*
• Practical Carbon Solutions: How Biodynamics Can Engage Climate in the Farm and Garden — Thursday, October 12, with Stewart Lundy

Biodynamic Research References Portal

With our new research references portal, you can filter, sort, and search a collection of biodynamic research references from around the world. They include long-term biodynamic research trial results, journal articles, books, conference proceedings, reports from innovative organizations, and more. Both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed documents are included. 

Revised and Expanded New Edition

Toward Saving the Honeybee was first published in 2002, four years before the term “Colony collapse disorder” was coined to describe the widespread and growing crisis of honeybee population loss. Yet this decrease in the honeybee population has been ongoing from at least the mid-twentieth century; and as we approach the third decade of the twenty-first century, with each passing year the situation becomes more dire. 

The sound, holistic approach outlined here is needed now more than ever. Written out of a deep love and concern for the earth and all of creation, Gunther Hauk’s Toward Saving the Honeybee is a light that shows the way forward for farmers, gardeners, hobbyist beekeepers, and anyone concerned about the future of our planet.

This new edition is richly illustrated with color photography and has been revised and expanded by the author.

New Faces at the Biodynamic Association

Welcome to Our New Board Members
We are pleased to welcome Osiris Abrego Plata (California) and Joseluis Ortiz (New Mexico), who joined the BDA Board of Directors during the biannual board meeting held earlier this month in at our office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Learn more about the committed individuals who volunteer their time and wisdom on behalf of our Association. 

BDA Board of Directors (L to R): Joseluis Ortiz, Wali Via, Peter Littell, Steffen Schneider, Janet Gamble, Daphne Amory, Lisa Murgatroyd, David Byrnes, Osiris Abrego Plata (not pictured: Greg Georgaklis and Susan West Kurz)

Welcome to Our New Development Director

The Biodynamic Association is pleased to welcome a new member to our team! Karisa Centanni has been selected to fill an important role for the BDA as the organization’s first-ever full-time Development Director. “We are so grateful to have Karisa join our team,” said BDA Co-Director Robert Karp. “She brings to this position just the combination of biodynamic passion and nonprofit savvy that we were hoping to find.” 

Centanni brings both practical knowledge of biodynamics and agriculture as well as the experience to help the Association secure new resources to support its growing work. Learn more about Karisa here.

Discover a Treasure Trove of Information and Inspiration

2016 Conference Recordings Now Available!

Revisit the talks you loved and explore what you missed through the 2016 Biodynamic Conference recordings! For the first time we are offering all recordings as a package online. BDA members receive a $75 discount! Purchase recordings now and you can instantly access:

• Video recordings of all 10 keynote speakers 
• Video recordings of popular 90-minute workshops with leading biodynamic educators Gunther Hauk, Mac Mead, and Sherry Wildfeuer
• Audio recordings of more than 35 workshops, including both pre-conference and main conference workshops

Anchoring Biodynamics on the Front Range - Light Root Community Farm, by Robert Karp: Every bioregion needs a vital biodynamic farm and educational center that anchors the creative light of the sun, moon, and stars deep into the body and soul of the local geography and community. If Daphne Kingsley and Cameron Genter have their way, the Front Range of Colorado will soon have such a center. I had the great pleasure recently of visiting and touring  their aptly named Light Root Community Farm in the scenic foothills of the Rocky Mountains just outside Boulder, Colorado. On a modest 40 acres of rented land, Daphne and Cameron have indeed put down a powerful tap root for this vision....

My Introduction to Homeodynamics with Enzo Nastati, by Stone Hunter: When I arrived at Sustainable Settings in Carbondale, Colorado, in March 2015 for the continuation of my North American Biodynamic Apprenticeship (NABDAP) training, I landed into a world of shifting perspectives and practices in respect to biodynamics. Just two months prior to my arrival, there was a five-day intensive seminar in the neighboring town of Paonia, titled “Spiritual Agriculture I,” with Enzo Nastati. My mentor, Brook Levan, attended the seminar after first hearing Enzo speak a year earlier in Paonia and then in Kentucky. Enzo then visited Sustainable Settings to consult with Brook regarding the farm as a whole organism and the Homeodynamic* approach to farm stewardship....

Reverence and Awe, by Karen Davis-Brown: You know that biodynamic agriculture lives in you, when you see or smell manure — particularly cow manure — and a deep appreciation and joy wells up within you. I sometimes refer to it as having the value of “gold” for a farm; I am not the only one....