For millennia farmers have saved and developed their own seed and maintained local sovereignty in doing so. Perhaps the best current illustration we have of our sovereignty threatened is with the genetics literally behind the food that the Earth provides.īased on the relationship of seed to the celestial and the earthly processes photosynthesis follows and from there comes everything that lives, breathes and dies. The process of extracting and moving around farm inputs, organic or synthetic, can cause serious environmental degradation and related energy consumption and with these inputs can come a myriad of contaminants that have no benefit to the food chain. The more dependent a farm, and those that it feeds, becomes on inputs extracted from outside the farming system itself, the less sovereignty we have when it comes to the food we eat and the environment we live in. This necessitates a system that is focused on the living elements of the system- not just the mineral, physical elements- and farm management decisions are made from this point of view. Whether it be fertility, pest control, water, livestock feed, or seed, this is the resounding theme throughout. The focus of the Demeter Biodynamic® Farm Standard is on the generation of farm inputs out of the living dynamics of the farm itself rather than importing them from outside. I realize this may sound simplistic and primal, and, in fact, it is – which is pretty much the point. It’s not a physical/ mechanical phenomenon beyond the fact that this is how it unfolds in time and space- as matter that decays to carry on new life. The focus of agriculture today needs to be not only maintenance but also regeneration- something that really only comes to fruition out of the realm of life/biology and beyond. I'll initiate this conversation by noting a principle that I think is critical in the modern day and fundamental to the Demeter Standards. Existing farm certification is not forfeited, but crops from the transitional areas are to be of a different variety, demonstrably separated in storage, and designated under another name and sold as non-certified.A farmer-to-farmer blog with Biodynamic farmer Jim Fullmer. When a Demeter certified Biodynamic® farm leases or purchases land that has been managed conventionally or organically, these acres must also be converted. Parallel production is not possible underthe same farm identity. They must be clearly labeled and easily distinguished in farm sales, whether direct or through distributors. Such crops, animals and products have to be specifically indicated on the application for certification and specified on the certificate. Such not-fully-converted products must be clearly separated from the converted fields, animals, or products, and no interchange should be possible. If any crops or land belonging economically to a farm cannot be farmed according to the Farm Standard because of serious technical considerations, then exceptions of particular fields, animals or products need the written consent of Demeter. Demeter may request residue tests for prohibited materials.Īny processing and/or packaging facilities on the farm or contracted by the grower must be included in the farm certification process and an additional questionnaire and an inspection of the facilities will be required. No prohibited chemicals may have been applied for a full 36 months. The land to be certified must meet the National Organic Program (NOP) standard as a base and managed to the Demeter Biodynamic® Farm Standard for one year, either concurrently with the final NOP transition year or an additional year after the NOP standard has been met. While Demeter is here to provide assurance that the Farm and Processing Standards are met, it is also here to nurture farmers and their farms towards this ideal. Others will require an evolution towards it. Some applicants’ farms may enter this program very close to this maximum potential. What is critical is that a farm evolves towards its maximum potential as a self-contained individuality. More than one farm may be counted as a single certification unit under certain conditions.Įach farm is considered a unique individuality- with its own beginning point and inherited environmental and social conditions. Individual fields or crops cannot be certified. Since Biodynamic farming principally views the farm as a self- contained organism only an entire farm will be considered for certification.
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