Bringing biodynamic agriculture to New Zealand in the 1920s and 1930s

Abstract

Biodynamic agriculture as a form of alternative agriculture dates to a series of lectures delivered by philosopher Rudolf Steiner in 1924 at Schloss Koberwitz (then in Germany now Kobierzyce in Poland). In 2019 biodynamic agriculture occupies some 190,000 ha in 55 countries, though nearly half remains concentrated in Germany. This paper explores the introduction of biodynamic agriculture principles and practices to New Zealand in the 1920s and 1930s.