When Rudolf Steiner gave his Agriculture Course in 1924, he did not use the term ‘biodynamics’, and probably did not between this date and 1925, the year he died. The term was employed for the first time after his death. In the years following his lectures in Koberwitz, the Agriculture Course spread very little. Steiner himself had hoped that his course would remain confidential for a few years, four years at least. This corresponds to the minimum time frame necessary to put the new principles into practice, and to obtain the first credible results. During this time, only a small circle of anthroposophic farmers in Koberwitz were able to dedicate themselves to the new task: they also worked in collaboration with the scientific section of the Goetheanum in Dornach. Only farmers were involved, because for Steiner, everything concerning the application of anthroposophy in agriculture had to be evaluated in its most practical aspects, and especially not at the level of ideas and philosophy alone. He wrote:
One condition for success, however, was strongly and repeatedly emphasised: for the time being, the content of the course must remain the spiritual property of the Circle of practicing farmers. Although some people only casually interested in agriculture were also present at the course, they were not permitted to join the Circle … These things will only be able to live up to their true potential if the content of the course … is tested by the farmers. Some things will require four years to try out. In the meantime the practical pointers that were given are not supposed to stray outside the agricultural community. These things are meant to enter right into practical life, so it does not good just to talk about them.
The collection of lecture transcripts was initially entitled Biological Fertilisation, which is to say, how to nourish the soil while respecting the principles of life. Then, around 1930, it became Biological and dynamic agriculture, which emphasised the significant contribution of this method: a way of farming that understands and works with the forces whose balanced expression allows for healthy plant and animal growth (dynamic, as we saw earlier, from the Greek dynamis, force). Soon afterwards the expression was contracted to biodynamic agriculture.
Although biodynamic agriculture was established by the initial prompting of Rudolf Steiner, it was largely completed after his death through research and experiments carried out by his collaborators and their successors. As we will see later on (see question 31: What is the content of the Agriculture Course?), Steiner’s practical contribution lies essentially in the development of preparations to be used as a complement to organic fertilisation. The function of these preparations is to reactivate the cosmic forces from which the soil and plants have been cut off by modern agricultural practices. He also proposed techniques for the regulation of weeds and harmful insects or animals through incineration. But their use is rather limited in practice. Among the researchers who succeeded him, I would cite Ehrenfried Pfeiffer who developed the sensitive crystallisation technique which enables progress to be observed. Maria Thun made a tremendous contribution to the understanding of cosmic influences, and as we saw earlier, her work led to the publication of the famous Sowing and Planting Calendar. She also created a new preparation known as CCP, or Cow Pat Pit Compost. Alex Podolinsky as well, created another preparation: 500 P.