Biodynamic agriculture, which has increased consistently in popularity
over the years, was born in June 1924 from a single course of eight
lectures by Rudolf Steiner in Koberwitz (now in Poland). In The
Agriculture Course, Peter Selg presents a remarkable study of the
context of those lectures, conveying a tangible sense of the celebratory
mood and atmosphere of those events at Pentecost. He highlights
Steiner's intentions for the course--and parallel lectures in
Breslau--by drawing widely on the available literature and numerous
archival sources.
Recognizing that chemical manipulation of agriculture was neither
desirable nor sustainable, Steiner helped launch an agricultural
movement whose outlook is truly pioneering in spirit. As Selg describes,
Steiner saw that "what was needed instead was new, conscious insight
into life forces and laws, into the nature of organisms, into the
diverse realms of nature, and the determining factors of both Earth and
cosmos that influence them." The vivid picture painted here reveals the
importance that Steiner placed on launching this work, as well as the
extent to which his initiative offered an answer to the emerging forces
of cultural and political destruction that would lead to World War II.
The Agriculture Course, Koberwitz, Whitsun 1924 is a translation from
German of Koberwitz 1924: Rudolf Steiner und der Landwirtschaftliche
Kurs (Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 2009).
