A biodynamic ADVENTURE IN EUROPE FEBRUARY, 2009

8/9/2019 A biodynamic ADVENTURE IN EUROPE FEBRUARY, 2009

1/22

Ang elic Orga nics Biodynam ic Tour (Cond ensed ) Feb ruary 2009

1

A BIODYNAMIC ADVENTURE IN EUROPEFEBRUARY, 2009

(with cond ensed itinerary)

The Ange lic Organic s farm team is p lanning to a ttend the a nnua l Agric ultura l

Co nferenc e in Dornac h, Switzerland and then d o a tour of biod ynamic fa rms,BD resea rc h centers, and BD educa tiona l c en ters in Luxem bourg, Ge rmany,

and Swede n. (See the p rofiles of these de stina tions in the itine ra ry further

below.)

Whos Going on This Adventure?

Ange lic O rganics Ge neral Ma nager Bob Bow er

Angelic Orga nics Learning Ce nter Exec utive Direc to r Tom SpauldingFarmer John Peterson , Found er of Ang elic Orga nics

Farmer John's assista nt a nd c rea tive p artne r Lesley Little field Freeman

Farmer John's sidekick Hanna h Spenc er

(Various lumina ries w ill jo in us a long the wa y; see b ios further below)

Our Mission?

To g a the r info rmation a nd insp ira tion from fa rms tha t a re highly expressed as

b iod ynam ic orga nisms, espec ia lly those tha t ha ve a strong c ultural, ed uca tiona l

and c om munity element, be sides being p rod uc tive a nd agricultura lly diverse

farms.

Why a Tour?

Farmer John Peterson has been inspired by his numerous encounters with

b iod ynamic farms and othe r anthrop osop hic a l initia tives throug hout the wo rld

during his four yea rs of touring w ith The Rea l Dirt on Farmer John. He ha s invited

his Angelic Orga nics c olleagues and others to w itness first ha nd som e of these

c ultura l and farming triump hs.

Add ing further to the imp ulse be hind the tour is the long rang e stra teg ic

p lanning tha t the Ange lic Organic s Lea rning Center

(www.learngrowconnect.org) is currently und ertaking a s it view s the future o f itsinitiatives.

Also , Angelic Orga nics [http://www.angelicorganics.com ] ma y soo n have the

possib ility o f securing up to 186.5 ac res o f land contiguous to the c urrent Ang elicOrga nic s farm via long -term lea ses and purc ha ses. Wha t is possib le fo r the future

out of this 250 ac re swe ep of fe rtile farmland? (See ma p below.)


2/22


2

ANGELIC ORGANICS, CURRENT AND PENDING


3/22


3

What is Possible?

What is possib le out o f our fa rms future fo r p roduc tion? For b iod ive rsity? For

c om munity? For the a rts? For ed uc a tion? These a re q uestions tha t b iodyna mics

(http://www.biodynamics.com) and anthrop osop hy

(http://www.goetheanum.org/87.html?&L=1)help us to a nswe r, and tha t theupc om ing tour will help us to c onsider.

The farm team a t Ange lic Organic s has beg un a 3 yea r planning p roc ess to

deve lop into a mo re fully rea lized b iod ynamic fa rm orga nism ove r the next 22

yea rs. This means, in p art, tha t w e wo uld like to bec om e a mo re self-susta ining

and b io-d iverse farm. Ange lic Orga nics is currently almo st exc lusive ly focused on

ra ising vegetab les (supp lying over 1400 households per we ek d uring the g row ing

sea son). The p ic ture o f a fa rm orga nism, as offe red by Rudolf Ste iner s

Agric ulture Lec tures tha t b ec ame the basis for biodynamic agric ulture, offe rs a

c om pelling vision for the idea l fa rm. Angelic Organic s wo uld like to have, asmuc h as possib le, the whole rang e o f agric ultura l ac tivities occ urring w ithin its

boundaries.

We recog nize tha t som e o f these ac tivities will be non-com me rc ia l in sc a le, but

that to ha ve their presenceas part of a b iod ive rse c onstella tion o f farming

ac tivities is nec essary to the rea liza tion o f a fully deve loped , syne rg istic , se lf-

susta ining farm organism. Othe r of the se enterp rises w ill be comme rc ia l in sc a le.(You c an see in th is film e xc erpt from The Rea l Dirt o n Farmer Johna rang e of

farm life tha t is a lrea dy p resent a t Angelic Organic s; othe r than the ve geta ble

op eration , these a gric ultura l elem ents a re symbolic or representa tive ; they are

not substantia l in a c om me rc ia l sense o r in their capac ity to b ring true b a lanceto our farm. How ever, this montage rep resents a d irec tion our farm is mov ing in:

http:// ww w.youtube .c om / wa tch?v=DQ8arrB_MzU.)

We a re looking a t the possib ilities of a dd ing c om merc ia l sca le enterprises in

g ra in, da iry, da iry p roc essing , a b akery, and a farm store, while expa nd ing our

ed uca tiona l initia tives. Of c ourse, we a re m ind ful tha t as BD farms evo lve ove r

the yea rs, other c ultural co mp onents often a cc rue to them, such as ed uca tiona lfac ilities, a c ultura l ce nte r, restaurant, and Waldorf school; we w ill also b e a ware

of these c ultural enhanc eme nts as possib ilities in our d ista nt future.


4/22


4

Who Will Benefit?

By offering this informa tion to o thers throug hout the world , we hop e tha t we can

help to insp ire hea lthier farms and fa rm c om munities.

We w ill sha re our tour docume nta tion of the BD farms, resea rch c enters andschoolson the Ang elic Orga nic s web site by sp ring of 2009.Sinc e our site is

ong oingly visited by ma ny peop le througho ut the wo rld , we will be able to

rea c h many with this possib ility o f b iod yna mic agric ulture. Add itiona lly, this

informa tion will hop efully help to ca ta lyze the future o f our own fa rm by

enc ourag ing our sha reho lde rs and sta keholders to support us in the vision for our

future. (Fa rmer John and his sidekic k Hanna h w ill be doc umenting the tour via

aud io and vide o interview s and photog rap hs. They ha ve a lrea dy do ne

prelimina ry visits and doc umenta tion o f ma ny of the d estina tions.)

Farmer John noticed during his discussions with tens of thousands of peopleduring his worldwide film tour tha t many peo ple s rela tionships to fa rms is

p rima rily throug h food : the health of food , the p urity of food , the c ost offoo d Fine to ha ve this consideration , reflec ts John, but a lso o f vita l

imp ortanc e to the wo rld is the health of the farms them selves, of the

c om munities tha t sp ring from fa rms, of the c ultura l insp ira tion tha t fa rms can

offer to the world .

While p eo ple in the aud iences often referred to fa rms as being in the midd le of

now here, John kep t suggesting tha t they a re in the midd le of somewhere, of

everywhe re. And he kep t saying , look, you g uysfarms a re rea lly fanta stic

p lac es, dyna mic , full of life a nd d rama, ric h w ith histo ry. They are p lac es tha tc an lead to true c ultura l transforma tion. Besides, you c an t expec t to save the

p lanet if our farms a re not o n a hea lthy footing. Farms cove r a lot o f the e arth.

Our we b p resenta tion o f the farm tour will help p eople to see wha t farms c an

truly offer to the w orld .


5/22


5

Prepared?

Our rea d ing list as p repara tion fo r the c onferenc e a nd e nsuing tour is:

Birth of a New Ag ricultureed ited by Ada lbert Graf von Keyserlingk

Extraord ina ry p ersona l reflec tions by those who a ttended Ste iner's Agric ultureLec tures a t Kob erwitz, with insp iring acc ounts of the event a nd of enc ounte rs

with Rudolf Ste ine r; inc lude s "Twelve Days w ith Rud olf Steine r" by C ounte ss

Joha nna Keyserling k, c o-ho st o f the c ourse; ed ited by the c oun tess's son .

The Time is a t Hand by Paul and Joa n Allen

A g raspab le, colorful summary of Ste ine r's life 's work; g ives importa nt

bac kground to the orig in and gene sis of the G oe thea num a nd Steiner's

rela tionship to Go ethe; inc ludes Go ethe's fa iryta le o f "The Green Sna ke and the

Beautiful Lily," a masterwork that is unique among Goethe's works.

Tomo rrow s Ag riculture Are We Mee ting the Cha lleng es?by Manfred Klett &

Franc is Edmund s (booklet)

Dying and Becoming Ma n's Path To a New Co mm union With Natureby

Ma nfred Klett & T Rapsey (bo okle t)

The Biod ynamic Spray Prepara tionsby Manfred Klett (boo klet)

Ag riculture Co urse

Lec tures de live red by Ste iner at Kob erwitz tha t fo rm the basis for BD agric ulture.

Add itiona l Sugg ested Rea d ing :

An Outline of Oc c ult Sc ienc eby Rud olf Steine r

One of 5 cornerstone boo ks of a nthrop osop hy.

The osophyby Rud olf Ste ine rAnothe r of the 5 co rnerstone bo oks of a nthrop osop hy.

Bees: Lec tures by Rud olf Ste iner

A c omplement to the Agric ulture Lec tures; throug h Ste ine r s insights into bee s, itadd resses soc ia l mo dels, love and sac rific e, o ffering insp ira tion to humans for

how to b uild and ma nage flourishing c om munity for the sake of a ll.


6/22


6

Who's Who on This Journey?

ANGELIC ORGANICS FARM TEAM

Bob Bower

Gene ral and G rowing Manag er, Angelic Organic sBob joined Angelic Orga nic s farm in 1995 and has headed up e fforts in c ustomerservice , distribution, financ e, marketing, and more. Prior to Angelic Organics, Bob spentnine yea rs in the corpo rate w orld w ith responsibilities rang ing from ac c ounting toc om pute r mana gement. He is a Certified Public Acc ountant as well as a student ofanthroposophy a nd biodynam ic s.

Tom Spa uldingFound ing a nd e xec utive direc tor of the Ang elic O rga nics Lea rning Cente r.

Tom has been with the Angelic Orga nics Lea rning Cente r since its found ing in 1998. Hefoc uses on strate gic planning, building p artnerships, and m ana ging our staff team and

fac ilities. He a lso keeps his hands in the d irt managing livestoc k and doing trac tor wo rkat Angelic Organic s (www.learngrowconnect.org). Tom has played a lead ership role inseveral local and regional food policy efforts, most recently serving as co-chair of the2006 Roc kford Foo d Summit.

John PetersonFarmer and Found er, Ang elic Orga nic s

A lifelong farme r, John found ed Angelic Organic s in 1990, whic h is now one o f thelargest c ommunity supported agric ulture (CSA) fa rms in the United Sta tes, grow ingvegeta bles and herbs for more tha n 1,400 families ea ch yea r. John is the sub jec t ofTag ga rt Sieg els awa rd winning fea ture doc umentary film The Real Dirt on Farmer John,

wh ich ha s been seen in theaters and television by m illions throughout the w orld . He

published Farmer John s Co okbook: The Rea l Dirt on Vegetab lesin 2006. He is nowwriting his autobiography and a book of short stories about farming. John has beentouring the world with his film a nd book since 2005, and looks forwa rd to returning tofarm life in 2009.

Lesley Freema nLesley has been Farmer John s personal a ssistant a nd c rea tive p artner since 2001. Sheap peared as the singing bumblebee in The Real Dirt on Farmer John, and in the fa ll of2007, she sang on tour with The Real Dirt througho ut Europe . She c o-ed ited Farmer

John s Cookb oo k: The Rea l Dirt on Vegetables. She lives in San Franc isc o, CA w here shec ontinues to write songs, pe rform , lea rn abo ut a nthrop osop hy, and explore d ifferent

forms of self-expression.

Hannah SpencerIn Oc tob er of 2008, Hannah joined Farmer John in Europe on a ten-day farm tour. Shehad suc h a g ood tim e she q uit her job in New York City to join him on his Europe an

jaunt (well, at least until May). As Farmer John's side kic k, she works on presenta tions,blog s, and making sure John a lways has ac cess to a c ookie.


7/22


7

OTHER TOUR PARTICIPANTS

Katie DobbKa tie Dobb com es from Perth, Australia whe re she was involved in ma ny ac tivities conc erning

the Youth Sec tion and Anthrop osop hica l Soc iety. Ka tie is pa ssionate ab out how c reativity c anhelp individuals learn and supp ort ea ch o ther. Her individua l stud ies in Dornac h a t the Youth

Sec tion of the Go ethea num c urrently revo lve a round a p rojec t ca lled "Sculpting with Warmth: AJourney from I to Comm unity".

Rachel and Steffen SchneiderRachel and Steffen Schneider run Hawtho rne Valley Farm, an o rganic and b iod ynamic d airyand vegeta b le farm two and a ha lf hours north of New York City at Harlemv ille in the HudsonVa lley. The 400-ac re farm is ve ry d iversified , with a d a iry herd of 60 cow s, a p roc essing p lantma king yogurt, cheese a nd q uark (soft c heese), a b akery, and a full-fled ged 100% orga nichea lth food store a t the fa rm. In add ition, mo re than 30 va rieties of ve ge tab les are grow n on 10

ac res of the fa rm. Hawtho rne Valley Produc e is ma rketed a t their store, a t the Union SquareMa rket in New York, and in several CSA (Co mm unity Supported Agriculture) sites.

Jan Diek va n MansveltAfte r stud ying b iology in the 60 s, Jan Diek lea d the p rofessional Warmond erhof BD tra iningsc hool in the 70s and estab lished the d epartment o f organic ag riculture a t the WageningenUnive rsity in the 80 s and 90s. He also initia ted the Louis Bolk Institute (1976), c o-initia tedBiolog ica (1983), cha ired the IFOAM (1986 - 1992), dr.sc . in Mosc ow (1998), cha ired the Dutc h BDSociety (1998 - 2004), international advisor (Russia, Egypt, Modavia). Linking agriculture - nutrition- landsc ap e w ithin soc iety (ec ono mics, culture), being a wa re of our state-of-mind, is his keyissue. He ha s four sons, one grandson, is d ivorced , has a grea t new p artnership, and is in pension.

Daniele DellOrcoDaniele is an MSC cultural soc iologist w ith yea rs of BD fa rming expe rienc e in Italy. He is veryinterested in new soc io-ec ono mic culture wherein c onsumers and fa rmers take respo nsibility inc ulturally crea tive wa ys.

Ursula BsseUrsula go t her farming educa tion at two different farms: first a t a Dem ete r-farm, then at a b io-farm (Wiesengut). After that she wo rked a t Apfelbac her. At Apfe lba c her she c ared fo r thetomatoes in the greenhouses, as well as doing all kinds of fieldwork, like weeding, tractor driving,and orga nizing the w orkers. She loves this wo rk, bec ause she can fee l the ea rth and theelements, and c an c om munica te to the m wh ile working . For her it is alwa ys a kind o f med itation

while working in the fields. Ursula ha s ma ny a rtistic and soc ial interests, which c an be exp loredhere in German (though her pho tograp hs are a universal langua ge) [ http://www.arts-of-life.net/ursula/index.html]

Johanna Lagerkranser

In 2006, Joha nna worked a t Tempo Documenta ry Festival in Stockholm, where The Real Dirt o nFarmer Johnwa s sc reened . A year late r, she traveled the west c oa st in North America to exp lorethe w orld o f organic foo d . Her fasc ination with food and environm ent late r led to studies in

journalism in Stoc kholm.


8/22


8

THE ITINERARY

Contact Info:[email protected]@angelicorganics.com

[email protected]

Farmer Johns international mobile phone:0044 792 441 3771 or +44 792 441 3771

Lesley s internationa l mobile phone :+44 792 441 3784

Monday, Feb 2

John a nd Hanna h a rrive in Dorna c h, Sw itzerland from Crete , Greece; Lesleyfrom San Franc isc o via Amste rdam; Bob and Tom from Angelic Orga nic s.

Ac c om mo dations in Ga stehaus Fried wa rt nea r the Goetheanum.

Tuesday, Feb 3 Saturday, Feb 7

Biod ynamic Ag ric ulture C onferenc e

http://www.sektion-landwirtschaft.org/560.html?L=1

What b ette r plac e to be g in our swe ep ing inquiry of Biod ynamic Ag ric ulture tha n

the a nnua l Agric ultura l Conferenc e in Dornac h? The foc us of the con ferenc e

this yea r is "How to Live w ith the Sourc e of Insp ira tion?" whic h o ne c ould perha ps

paraphrase as "How c an w e make Rudolf Ste iner's Lec tures on Agriculture

relevant to tod ay?"

Special Encounter: (day a nd t ime to b e d etermined )In Dornac h, the Ang elicOrga nic s Farm Tea m w ill mee t w ith Ma nfred Klett, one o f the found ers of

Dottenfelderhof (rea d about tour destina tion Dotte nfelderho f further below ), a

lifelong b iod ynamic fa rme r and former Lea der of the Sec tion for Agric ulture a t

the G oe thea num. We love Manfred s lec tures on agriculture (note his p resenc ein the list of rec om mende d rea ding a bo ve) and loo k forward to he a ring

Ma nfred s insights into how to fashion the future o f a fa rm.


9/22


9

Sunday, Feb 8

7:00am: Dep art Dornac h by van. Drive (4hr -- 391km) to Tom and Anja Kass'

fa rm, Dem eter-Betrieb Kass.

11:00am 2:30pm: Farm tour; fa rm lunch; see a rc hitec tural sketc hes and d iscussp lans for the ir new fa rm; visit ne w fa rm site

Demeter-Betrieb Kass1, Rue BildchenL-7518 Rolling enhttp://www.demeter.lu/erzeuger_detail.php?link_id=2

In Attendance:Angelic Orga nics Farm Team + Ka tie Dobb + Rachel and Steffen Schne ider

DEMETER-BETRIEB KASSFarmers: Tom Kass and Anja Staudenma yer[Website: http://www.demeter.lu/erzeuger_detail.php?link_id=2 (German)]

Demeter-Betrieb Kass is a farm in the p roc ess of transforma tion.It was a trad itiona l farm through four ge nerations of Tom sfam ily until the summ er of 1999, when Tom and Anja took overits op eration and be ga n the p roc ess of c onverting the farmac c ording to the princ ip les of b iodyna mic s. In 2002 theDeme ter-Betrieb Kass farm wa s c ertified b iod ynamic b y theDeme ter assoc iation, and in Dece mb er of 2006 Tom and Anjapurc hased the fa rm from Toms mo ther.

A few yea rs ag o, Tom and Anja be ga n the long p roc ess of m aking their dream of a n expandedd ive rsified biod ynam ic fa rm a reality. Tom and Anja have invested in 100 ha of fa rmland o nly a

short drive from the ir current fa rm. (Their c urrent fa rm is in the villag e, whic h is com mo n to ma nyfa rms in Luxembourg; their new fa rm site is on the o utskirts of the v illage.) Over the last few yearsthey have d esigned , with the help o f an architec t, a b eautiful c onstella tion o f buildings to b ebuilt on this new land . It inc lude s barns, anima l pens, prod uc tion units, sto rage fac ilities, and asma ll fa rm store, not to mention a new hom e for their fam ily of five.

In ad dition to a ll these p rojec ts, Anja wo rks for the loc al chap ter of Dem eter c ertifica tion andTom sits on the boa rd of the orga nic fa rmers cooperative BIOG. They both stud ied a gric ulture atthe University of Hohenheim nea r Stuttga rt and g rad ua ted with degrees in orga nic a griculture.

Tom and Anja a lso host numerous sc hoo l group s on their farm throughout the year, which theyc onsider to be a vital co mp onent of their farm s mission.


10/22


10

Farm Data

Land and Distribution(current farm/ future farm)

Tota l Land : 50 ha / 100 haPasture : 35 ha / 70 ha

Tillab le Land : 15 ha/ 30 ha- Cereals (whea t, spelt, rye, oa t, ba rley, fodd er beets): 0.4 ha/ 0.8 ha- po ta toes: 0.4 ha / 0.8 ha- c love r grass: 14.2 ha/ 28.4 ha- vegetables: NA/1 ha (possibility)

Livestock(current farm/ future farm)

Milking c ows: 16/ 25Fattening cows: 10/20Sows: 10/10Goats: 10/10

Laying hens: 20/200Mother rabbits: 5/10Horses: 10/5

2:30pm: Dep art for Sc hanc k-Haff farm ac c om panied by Anja (who w ill

translate).

3:15pm: Arrive a t Scha nc k-Haff; tour fa rm

Schanck HaffJos Sc ha nc k

Luxembourg www.schanck-haff.lu

In Attendance:Angelic Orga nics Farm Team + Ka tie Dobb

SCHANCK-HAFFHead Farmer: Jos Schanc k[Website: www.schanck-haff.lu (German)]

Sc hanc k-Haff holds a plac e o f distinc tion in the histo ry o f biod ynam ics in

Luxemb ourg in 1980, it b ec ame the first b iod ynam ic farm in thec ountry, in many wa ys forging the path for bo th orga nic andbiodynamic farmers to c ome. At that time, brothers Jos and Aende rSc hanc k were interested in find ing a new, more ea rth consc ious wa y offarming Aend er, a trained c onstruc tion engineer, had disc overedanthroposop hy as well as the organic movement, and toge ther with Jos

they converted the farm to encomp ass biodyna mic tec hnique s and


11/22


11

method olog ies (the two othe r Sc hanck brothers had branc hed off to o ther farms). In 1986, theSc hanc k farm w as awa rded the Hellef fir dNa tur environm enta l p rize, a p rize tha t helped tosp read aw areness of the organic (and biodyna mic ) movement.

While Jos continued to ma nag e the d aily op era tions of the farm, Aend er bega n to work onma rketing the fa rms produc ts the fa rm, being only 60 km from the c ap ital city, had a large

potential customer ba se. Aende r soon discove red othe r organic farms tha t could benefit fromsha red ma rketing, and the p rojec t g rew rap id ly as c ooperatives, assoc ia tions andinterc onnec ted farm sto res were formed out o f Aend ers original imp ulse. Soon, Aende r wasinvolved full time in the formation and strengthen ing o f these orga nic and biodynamic fa rm-to-c onsume r organiza tions and Jos bec ame the sole hea d farmer of Schanc k-Haff. Present d ay,Sc hanc k-Haff is a m ixed farm with a c heese ma king operation, bakery and farm store.

Farm DataLand and Distribution

Tota l Land : 120 ha- Vegetables (Carrots 2 ha; Onions 1 ha; Cabbages 0.3; Potatoes)

- Cerea ls (whea t, rye a nd spelt their spelt is an anc ient breed unc rossed with whea t; sa fe fo rsome gluten allergies)- Pasture

Livestock

Ca ttle: 30 milking c ows plus of fsp ring, 1 breed ing bullFa ttening Pigs: 30-40 (fed with unsellable p rod uc e, milk whey and grain castoffs; bought fromDeme ter-Betrieb fa rm)Chickens: 20Pigeons: 30

Beehives: 4

Facilities

Bakery: Marlene Schanc k bakes 3 type s of b read onc e a week a spelt loa f, a spelt and wheatb lended loaf, and a whea t, spelt and rye blend ed loa f. During the w inter months, Marleneop ens the bakery to schoo l group s to lea rn the a rt of fresh bread b aking .

Cheese Ma king: in op eration since 1989 in a p artnership w ith Bio-BIOGEN-Bauere. They makeeight different typ es of cheeses Stoffi, Mellen Hpperdanger (a typ e o f Ca memb ert), Brie, Full-Cut Cheese (as a na tural cheese, with ga rlic, with herbs, with green pepper), skimm ed c heese.It is still the o nly c heese op eration in Luxembourg tha t makes cheese from organic raw milk.

Farm Store: Part of the NATURATA orga niza tion. Sells the ir own prod uc ts as well as p roduc ts from

other NATURATA fa rms. Op en tw ice a week to the g eneral pub lic.

5:15 - 5:45pm: Depart Sc ha nk-Haff; d rive towards Bornhe im (nea r Bonn) a nd

hotel (145.84 km -- 2hr12min), have dinner on the road .

Ac c om mo da tions a t Hotel Ga rni in Bornheim, a tow n loc a ted be twee n

Ap felbac her Farm a nd Wieseng ut Experimenta l Sta tion .


12/22


12

Monday, Feb 9

9:00am: Breakfast in ho tel w ith AO Farm Tea m, Ka tie Dob b, Jan Diek van

Ma nsfe ld, Daniele Dell Orco, and Ursula Buesse.

9:45am: Dep art for Ap felbac her Farm (2.5 km from the ho tel about 5 mins)

10:00am: Arrive a t Ap felbacher; Therese Apfelba c her w ill present on the ir

automa ted pa cking and internet ordering system.

ApfelbacherTombergstrasse 1

53332 Bornhe im-Brenig, Germa ny

http://www.bioland-apfelbacher.de/

In Attendance:Angelic Orga nics Farm Team + Ka tie Dobb + Jan Diek va n Ma nsve lt + DanieleDellOrco + Ursula Buesse

APFELBACHER[Website: http://www.bioland-apfelbacher.de/(German)]

Apfelba c her is a German CSA farm that d elivers orga nic produc e toKln and its suburbs. Sub sc ribers order c ustomized boxes usingApfe lba c her's online orde ring system (http://www.bioland-apfelbacher-shop.de/). These o rders a re then filled using a com pute rsystem /sma ll sca le assem bly line a t the farm's wa rehouse. Their

op era tion w as rec ently upg rad ed with an extensive b uilding p rojec tthat imp roved and expand ed their pa c king and storage fac ilities.

Apfelba c her s produc e is ob tained no t only from their own fa rm b ut from other orga nic farms inthe region (in the winter, they import produc e from the more temp erate south ). These boxes a rethen delive red to the b usinesses and home s of subsc ribers.

Farm Data

Land and Distribution

Tota l Land : 11.5 ha- Greenho uses: 3 greenhouses totaling approxima tely 1000 m2 (lettuc e, radishes, ca bb ag eveg etab les, toma toes, cuc umb ers, peppers and muc h, muc h more)- Fields: strawberries, soft fruits, mixed vegetables

10:45am : Disc uss U.S., Dutc h, a nd Germa n C SA fo r an hour.


13/22


13

11:45am: Lea ve Apfelbacher for lunch with Ulric h Kop ke of Wiesengut (10.9 km

drive about 16 mins.)

1:30pm: Arrive a t Wiesengut; tour fa rm a nd c hromatography labs w ith Ulric h

Institut fr Organischen LandbauKatzenb urgw eg 3

53115 Bonn, Ge rmany

www.iol.uni-bonn.de

In Attendance:Angelic Orga nics Farm Team + Ka tie Dobb + Jan Diek va n Ma nsve lt + Daniele

Dell Orco + Ursula Bue sse

WIESENGUT EXPERIMENTAL FARM[Website: http://www.iol.uni-bonn.de/index2_e.htm (English)]

The Wieseng ut Experimenta l Farm is part of the Institute of Orga nicAgric ulture (IOL) at the University of Bonn. From the ir website: Resea rchat Wiesengut c enters around the d evelopm ent and op timization ofp rod uc tion me thod s a t c losed , inner-farm nutrient c yc les without usingsynthet ic p roduc tion substanc es. The main foc us of our resea rch is toillumina te p rinc ipa l interac tions in organic systems and to d eve lopmethods of p rac tical need for the farmers. Under the d irec tion of Dr.Ulrich Kp ke, the farm strives to develop long-term susta inab le formsof land ma nag ement including a single farm p erspe c tive a s well asaspe c ts of na ture c onservation and land sca pe ec ology (e.g., c rea tionof hedges, field margins, buffer strips, field woods and ponds).

Their an imal op eration c enters on Limousin beef c a ttle. Come autumn,the c alves and b reeding bull a re sold and the fat tening bulls a reslaughtered and sold through organic butc heries. The c a ttle are

c onsidered a key part of the o rganic nutrient system they a re fed exc lusively on Wiesengutfod der and the resulting solid and liquid manure is op timized to enrich spec ifica lly Wiesengut soil.The tw o innova tive ca ttle ba rns on the farm, de signed by Ulrich, ma ke the c ollec tion of thisma nure as thorough and simple a s po ssib le.

Wiesengut is also involved in b iod ynamic resea rch. Along with an experiment w ith o rganic vs.biodyna mic p ota toes, Wiesengut hosts a Chroma tography lab . Chrom atography, to q uote theBio-Dynamic Assoc iation of Ind ia , is a tec hnique for sep ara ting the c om ponents in a c om plexmixture. In biodynamics the techniqueis used to c reate a pic ture of the substanc e tha t can

be interpreted direc tly. Approache d in this wa y it ca n reveal som ething o f the inner nature of asub stanc e - its vitality a nd dynamics. Currently, Wieseng ut is working on c hromatog raphs oforganic and biodynamic g rap es and wine.

Dr. Ulrich Kop ke no t only hea ds the Wieseng ut fa rm but is a lso responsible fo r its existenc e. Heac c ep ted the p osition o f Professor o f Organic Ag ric ulture at the University of Bonn in 1987. In thatsame yea r, he was direc tly responsible for the creation of the Orga nic Agriculture department


14/22


14

as we ll as the c reation of the experimenta l fa rm. Since then, he ha s lec tured a round the worldand has gained a reputa tion of such that he ha s bee n offered and has turned do wn multiplepositions a t o ther unive rsities, prefe rring to stay a t his ow n b eloved resea rch farm. In 1992, Ulrichcreated and was the first director of the Institute of Organic Agriculture (located at theUniversity). To this da y, he is involved in most o f the short te rm and ongo ing experiments a tWiesengut. He is ma rried with four child ren and has a c onta gious joie d e vivre.

Farm Data


Tota l Land : 76 haTillable Land: 59.2 ha (red c lover, pota toes, winter and spring whea t, fava beans, winter rye,oats, radishes and mustard)Pasture: 15.5 ha

Livestock

Beef Cattle: 60 head Limousin (heifers, calves, cows, breeding bull and fattening bulls)

7:00pm: Dinner in Bornheim

Taverne Kostas (Mediterranea n food)Knigstr. 102, Bornheim

Germany

In attendance:Angelic Orga nics Fa rm Team + Katie Dob b + Jan Diek va n Ma nsve lt + Daniele

Dell Orco + Ursula Bue sse

Also jo ining us for d inne r w ill be Tadea u a nd Gisela Ca lda s, who se family

g rac iously hosted Hanna h a nd Farmer John in Bonn on the ir 2008 farm to ur.

Tadea u s c om pany is Ec ot rop ic Co nsulting S.A. Ta dea u ha s 27 yea rs of

c onsulting experienc e in organics and b iodynamics.

Ac c om mo da tions a t Hotel Garni ag ain.

Tuesday, Feb 10

8:00am: Brea kfast a t ho tel

9:00am: Drive to Dottenfelde rhof (1hr44min d rive )

11:00am: Arrive at Dottenfelderhof


15/22


15

Dottenfelder Hof61118 Bad Vilbel

Germany

http://www.dottenfelderhof.de/

In Attendance:Angelic Orga nics Farm Team + Ka tie Dobb

DOTTENFELDERHOF[Website: http://html.dottenfelderhof.de/ (German)]

The Dotte nfelderhof farm is loc a ted in and a round a formermo nastery da ting ba c k over 1000 yea rs. Tod ay, Dottenfelderhofis a fully realized biod ynamic farm o rganism loc a ted on 156 haof land with approximate ly 100 peop le in residenc e. Along withtheir field , orcha rd and livestoc k ventures, they have a full da iry

op eration and ba kery. Also o n site is a pop ular farm store tha tc a rries over 2000 Demeter c ertified b iod ynamic p rod uc ts fromboth Dottenfelderhof and other biodynamic farms. Fresh breadfrom the fa rm's bakery and meat from their livestoc k can be

found along side a myriad o f other go od s. Next doo r is the farm's spec ialty c heese shop , withma ny of the cheeses origina ting from Dottenfe lderhof's ow n dairy op eration. The spa c e a lsohouses a sma ll ca fe, where shopp ers and visitors can enjoy espresso, p astries and lightsandwiches.

Dottenfelderhof ha s a long standing history of community build ing a nd educ a tion. Ove r 2,000stude nts from all over the globe ha ve gone through their biod ynamic training p rog ram andc ountless othe r farmers, ga rdeners and laymen have p articipa ted in Dottenfelde rho f's symp osia

and seminars. Schoo l group s and spec ia l interest group s are welco med, and Dotten felderhof'sac tive internship p rogram has helped to tra in hund reds of a sp iring fa rmers. Throughout the yea r,the farm organizes and hosts various cultural events and festivals for members of the generalpublic.

Dottenfelderhof a lso p rides itself on a tradition of inquiry and exploration. Along with their ow ninvestigations, the fa rm hosts a b ranch of the Biod ynamic Resea rch Center unde r the direc tionof Hartmut Spiess. Som e of the ongoing p rojec ts a t the fa rm inc lude b reeding a bette r chicken,testing new biodyna mic farming tec hnique s, imp roving seed produc tion a nd q uality.

Farm Data


Tota l Land : 156 haTillab le Land : 117 ha- Vege tables: 2 ha- Orchards: 4 ha- Cereals (whea t, oa ts, rye, barley)Pasture: 39 ha


16/22


16

Livestock

Dairy cows: 80 (+ young stock)Pigs: 3 sows (+ offspring)Chickens: >1000

HorsesSheepGoatsGeeseMenage rie of p ets

Facilities

Cheese MakingBakeryFarm StoreSpec ialty Shop / Ca f

Extensive residential a nd educa tiona l fac ilities

11:00am lunch: Tour of Dottenfelde rhof

Afternoon: ta lking to sta ff (idea lly with founde rs, peop le who a re involved in

visioning Dot tenfelde rho f's next 40 yrs, and w ith Hartmut Sp iess of their research

and see d initiative.)

Supper: Farmer John s friend , Miche lle C onc ep c ion , w ill join us for supper andthe e ven ing s ac tivities. Miche lle is a superb a bstrac t pa inte r, and ha s ha d more

tha n 50 ind ividua l and g roup exhib itions in Spa in, Germa ny, and the UnitedSta tes. She b riefly lived and pa inte d a t Ang elic Orga nic s in the early 90s.Michelle now lives in Frankfurt w ith her p artne r Peter (who may a lso jo in us for the

evening). http://www.michelleconcepcion.com/concepcion/?page_id=15

Evening: Lesley performs; gather with residents to share info about Angelic

Orga nic s and to lea rn mo re ab out Dottenfelde rhof.

Wednesday, Feb 11

Morning: Breakfast at Dottenfelderhof

9:45am: Dep art; drop off Ka tie Dobb a t tra in sta tion (15.3 km ab out 22 mins);

return van to Frankfurt a irport (11.4 km about 14 minutes).


17/22


17

12:15pm: Ange lic Orga nic s team flies to Stoc kholm, Swed en.

Joha nna Lagerkranser mee ts us a t Stoc kholm a irport, He iner Lohrmann p ic ks us

up , and g ives us a short d riving to ur of Stoc kholm on the way to Jrna . (He iner

Lohrma nn is a Waldo rf tea cher and soc ia l therap ist w ith long expe rienc e from

Waldorf schools in Ge rmany and Sweden. During rec en t yea rs ha s he b eeninvo lved in sta rting a new initiative w ithin the a rea of fa rming .)

Jrna:RSS 25

15391 Jrna

Swe den

In Attendance:Angelic Orga nics Farm Team + Joha nna Lagerkranser

JRNA[Websites: Naturbruks HS - http://www.Jrnanaturbruksgymnasium.se/english/english/(English);YIP - http://www.yip.se/(English)]

The Jrna Na turbruks High School, found ed in 1999, is loc a ted onNibb le Farm in Jrna , Sweden. Nibb le Fa rm is an integrate db iod ynamic dairy op eration running since the 1960s. Intimatelyconnected with the daily operations of Nibble Farm, studentsemb ark on a c om prehensive three year program tha tenc ompasses bo th a Steiner Waldo rf ed uca tion and a fullinduc tion into b iod ynamic farming. Students learn diverse

operations wo rking w ith the fa rm's va rious entities. The farm has30-40 milk cows as part of their da iry op erat ion as we ll as horses,sheep and pigs. With 90 ha fod der, 25 ha grain, 10 ha b read grain, 15 ha fo r animal c rops, 2 ha

of pota toe s and 0.3 ha o f bee ts, stud ents not on ly lea rn ab out the growing a nd ha rvesting ofc rop s but c an wa tch some o f these c rop s be transformed from grain to b read in the fa rm'sbakery. At the d a iry, they c an see milk transformed into yog urt and cheese. A wo rking sawmill isa lso p art of the fa rm's op eration. At the neighboring Nibb le Garden Cente r students learnveg etab le ope ra tions on 3 ha of land and 0.10 ha o f greenhouses. All produc e g rown a t theGa rden Cente r is sold in its own shop .

Jrna is a lso the host to the Internat ional Youth Initia tive Program (YIP). YIP is a new soc ialentrep reneur s training p rog ram it tea ches youth from ages 18-25 to explore inner and oute raspec ts o f life wh ilst develop ing the skills to m ake a positive c ont ribution in today s soc iety. YIP is

a p ro jec t und er Vrdinge By Folk High Sc hoo l and hosted a t the Rudolf Ste iner Sem inary inJrna , Sweden. YIP is a one year intensive p rog ram with one mo nth set a side for an inte rnship

abroa d . Eac h da y begins a t 7:30 am and c ontinues with theoretica l and a rtistic c oursesalongside a n interna tional group o f experienc ed tea c hers, followe d by co mmunityeng agements. The p rog ram ha s proven immensely popu la r with its 42 participa nts from a ll overthe world , and will assured ly be a future mec c a for youth in the vangua rd of cultura ltransformation.


18/22


18

An ad ditiona l fea ture o f the Jrna Anthrop osophic al Com munity isthe Jrna C ultural Centre (in Swed ish, the Kulturhuset i Ytterjrna), aninteg ral p art of the Rudolf Ste iner Seminary. It was designed by ErikAsmussen, a well known anthroposophical architect, and completedin 1992. The c ultural c entre inc ludes performa nc e spac es, housing,c lassroom s, stud ios for bo th music a nd da nc e a s we ll as sma ll lib ra ries.

Throughou t the yea r, it hosts thea ter performa nc es, conc erts,c onferenc es and m any o ther com munity oriented a c tivities. In 2001,it was voted the 2nd best-liked b uild ing in Sweden (we bsite:

http://www.kulturhuset.nu/start/ (Swedish)).

7:00pm (to b e dete rmined ): Ga thering with pe op le from Nibb le Farm, YIPpe op le, and sc hool.

Ac c om mo dations in Jrna; hosted by Heiner and the Youth Initia tive Prog ram

(YIP).

Thursday, Feb 12

All da y a t Jrna ; visit the BD farm a nd school; lea rn m ore a bout the ir insp iringYouth Initiative Program (YIP).

8:00am: Breakfast

9:00am: Meeting w ith fa rme r Sta ffan Aresund in the cow barn follow ed by a

sho rt v isit to the fa rm d a iry and Thomas Stenius.

12:00pm: Lunc h a t Nibb le w ith studen ts.

1:00pm: Visit to the southe rn end of the fa rm, Ba ltic Sea and sawmill, follow ed by

a visit to the m arket ga rden and store.

3:30pm: Co ffee a t Kulturhuset , me eting w ith John Gerha rd . (Besides his work a t

the schoo l, John also rep resents the c om pa ny which lea ses the m arket g arden.

John s c om pany Ekoloe den hosted a sc reening of The Rea l Dirt on Fa rmer John

fo r its CSA c usto mers during the Tempo Doc Film Festiva l in 2006, w ith Farme rJohn in attend anc e.)

To be determine d : longer ta lks, or some shorter visits to othe r sites in Jrna.

Ac c om mo dations in Jrna ; aga in hosted by Heiner and the Youth Initia tive

Program (YIP).


19/22


19

FARM TOUR ENDSBut the Anthrop osop hic a l Ga lliva nting Cont inues...

Friday, Feb 13

Tom dep arts from group to spend a day exp loring Swe den.

Bob, Lesley, Hanna h a nd John fly from Stoc kholm to the United King dom .

They will be in the UK for two days of anthrop osophica l ca rousing in Forest Row

in East Sussex, whe re they w ill me et the follow ing lumina ries:

Sevak Gulbekian, chief ed ito r of Cla irview Books, Temp le Lodge Pub lishing, andRud olf Ste ine r Press; author of In the Belly o f the Beast, an insightful book whic h

illumina tes how we can eng ag e w ith c onte mp orary culture, using a ll the sp iritua lwisdo m we have acquired , and thereb y help to transform evil into g ood .

www.clairviewbooks.comwww.templelodge.com

www.rudolfsteinerpress.com

Nicholas Wijnberg, Christian Community Priest a nd c o-author of Crossing theThreshold: Prac tic a l and Spiritua l Guidanc e on Dea th a nd Dying (ba sed on the

Work of Rud olf Ste iner).

Anne Stockton, ed itor of A rt: An Introd uc tory Rea der, by Rudolf Ste ine r andAnne Stoc kton . She is the illustrator of The Illustrated Ca lend ar of the Soul:Med itations of the Yearly Cyc le. She is a lso author and illustrator of Honey-Bun, a

delightful book about her favorite c a t ever. Anne ha s been pa inting

profe ssiona lly for most of her life. Resolving to b ec om e a pa inte r a t age thirteen,

she beg an her forma l stud ies a t the Art Studen t's Lea gue a nd Grand Central Art

Sc hool in New York City in her fiftee nth year. Anne ha s taught fo r many years in

the United Sta tes and in England , at Tob ia s School of Art wh ic h she founded in

1979 with her husband Kurt Fa lk. Curren tly, she lives and works in he r stud io inSussex, Eng land .Ac c om modations a t Cheq uers Inn in Forest Row, Eng land .


20/22


20

Saturday, Feb 14

Tom flies hom e from Stoc kholm to Chicag o.

Mo rning : Tour Emerson Ca mpus, an anthroposophica lly-insp ired initia tive

http://www.emerson.org.uk/

1:00pm: Valentine s Day Lunc h w ith Anne Stoc kton, Nic ho las Wijnb erg , and the

AO Farm Team (minus Tom Spaulding ); to be held a t Chequers Inn in Forest Row.

3:00pm: Me et Seva k Gulbekian a t his offic e next to C heq uers and explore the

Forest Row area . Tea with Seva k and others late r tha t a fternoon. Add itiona l

plans to b e d etermined .

Ac c om modations a t Cheq uers Inn in Forest Row, Eng land .

Sunday, Feb 15

Bob flies ho me to Illino is.

10:00am : Attend Christian Co mmunity Church Servic e; jo in in fe llowship

ga thering a fter the service.

Noon: Lunch w ith Anne Stoc kton and othe rs

Afternoon (p end ing ): Lesley a nd John ha ve Rhythmic Massage appointments.

Rhythmic Ma ssage is part o f the anth rop osop hic approa ch to hea lth (it is b ased

on an understand ing of the relationship betw een the nerve-sense and

me tabolic system s; it ha s a ha rmo nizing and integ ra ting effec t on ma ny b od ily

func tions, inc lud ing b rea thing , circ ula tion, d igestion and musc le tone).

Ac c om modations a t Cheq uers Inn in Forest Row, Eng land .

Monday, Feb 16

9:30am: Hanna h, Lesley a nd John g o to Lond on to explore.

6:00-9:00pm : Hanna h, Lesley and John have sessions w ith p rac titione rs from

Chinese Clinic Herba l Med ic


21/22


21

9:00pm: Dinne r with sta ff from the Chinese Clinic Herba l Med ic

Ac c om mo dations a t Tavistoc k Hote l in Lond on, England .

Tuesday, Feb. 17

John , Lesley, and Hannah c ontinue Lond on explora tion.

Ac c om mo dations a t Tavistoc k Hote l.

Wednesday, Feb 18

Hanna h, Lesley, and John fly to Amsterda m to e xperienc e the c ity and visit

Rob in (a ka the Girl with the Tom atoe s from The Rea l Dirt on Farmer John).

Saturday, Feb 21

Lesley flies to Russia to visit friends. This w ill be he r fourth sojourn to Russia in the

last e ight ye a rs.

Hanna h and John return to C rete to w ork on c rea tive p rojec ts (inc lud ing posting

a c om prehe nsive a cc ount o f our BD tour on the Ange lic Organic s web site ).

(Or Lesley, John and Hanna h just might dev ia te from the itine ra ry and g o to

Ca rniva l in Venice for a few days.)

March 10 or so

Lesley jo ins Hanna h a nd John on C rete ...

Monday, March 30

Lesley flies ho me to San Franc isc o

April

Hanna h and John c ontinue their c rea tive p rojec ts on C rete .


22/22


22

Documents

A biodynamic ADVENTURE IN EUROPE FEBRUARY, 2009