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100 Years of biodynamics

“A farm is not merely an industrial input-output system, nor solely a biological-ecological organism, but it can, it needs to develop a real unique identity.” In this article, IMA co-director and co-founder Steffen Schneider reflects on a century of the biodynamic approach to agriculture and looks ahead to the importance of tending the three soils in creating conditions for farms to manifest something approaching spiritual personhood.

Farm life meditations

“You are a cow”. In counterpoint to animal meditations and Stanford’s VR Lab’s virtual cow experiment in tapping the knowledge-action gap with empathy, Farm Life Meditations: Midsummer Cow is a 7 minute imaginative immersion into the life of a cow in a biodynamic herd on a farm managed for biodiversity, resilient agricultural production, and quality of life. Behind the meditation are the questions: How close can we get to understanding the world from another species’s perspective? What are effective forms for humans to listen to and communicate with another being? Once we’ve gained deep knowledge and empathy for the web of other beings in our world, how do we decide to what to do?

WHY “MINDFUL”

Regenerative, multifunctional, organic, industrial, sustainable, and more. “None of these terms, at least explicitly, name the one crucial aspect we need for transformational change in the food system. Most of these terms enable us to externalize our relationship to, our participation in the activity; that tendency and temptation to focus on the outward techniques lie at the root of many of our challenges[…] it is too easy to separate ourselves, our inner attitudes from our work.” In this article, Steffen Schneider thinks through why the “M” in IMA.

The Haber-Bosch Process

In this essay, co-director Steffen Schneider explores the early 20th century history of the synthesis and scaled production of nitrogen and societal context of food scarcity. The thinking behind the roots of industrialized farming are still at play today in how we think about food scarcity, climate change, and carbon cycles. Reflecting on his personal connection to the people and places of this scientific work, Steffen presents the shortcomings of understanding nitrogen with, as Goethe put it, “aboutness-understanding” rather than “withness-understanding.”

Soil Walks

In 2019, IMA hosted a series of Soil Saturday Walks. Part agricultural field walk, part relational art, part forest bathing, these walks introduced participants to the lively, but sometimes invisible, worlds of the farm. In this photo essay, contributor Jill Jakimetz reflects on learning with the land while summer becomes fall.

Climate, soil, food, healtH

In 2020, just before coronavirus became a household reality, The Institute for Mindful Agriculture (IMA) hosted a winter workshop with the theme “Climate – Soil – Food – Health – It’s all connected”. We chose the theme, knowing that its scope and complexity could be overwhelming. Nevertheless, if this is in fact our reality, how can we best hold it, and come away with a deeper understanding as well as actionable inspiration? .In six headlines, co-director Steffen Schneider reflects on his learnings from a 2020 winter workshop.