The Course for Farmers | Rudolf Steiner

Can we still, nowadays, work the land without depleting it and provide people with food that boosts their strength? In the years following the First World War, farmers and scientists asked Steiner if he could help them better understand the land, plants, and animals, and advise them on their farming practices. Steiner accepted, and from June 7 to 16, 1924, he gave a series of 8 lectures, some of which were followed by discussions. In front of an audience mainly made up of farmers, he laid the foundations for a new way of reconnecting with the land and working it. This agriculture, soon to be called "bio-dynamic," aims to restore life forces to a land that was already beginning to be subjected to the exclusive pursuit of yield, quantity, and profitability at the expense of quality. Steiner offers farmers a modern, scientific method of understanding nature, elements, minerals, plants, and animals, with a focus on respecting the environment and nourishing humans with quality food in a vibrant and diverse landscape. The farmer, as well as anyone with a heightened sense for the land, will consciously rediscover a deep connection with the forces that created nature. This work was translated with great care and precision by Ilse Démarest-Oelschlâger.