Agriculture: The Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture (Creeger and Gardner translation) by Rudolf Steiner

When the Agriculture Course was originally delivered, its audience was not primarily farmers but the attendees were expected to be fully familiarized with the contents of Theosophy and Esoteric Science (the sequel to Theosophy). With this remarkable series of lectures presented in Koberwitz, Silesia, June 7-16, 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded biodynamic agriculture. They contain profound insights into farming, the plant and animal world, the nature of organic chemistry, and the influences of heavenly bodies. This translation from the original German by Catherine E. Creeger and Malcolm Gardner is a fundamental text for many intermediate and advanced students of biodynamic agriculture ― one to which the biodynamic practitioner will refer again and again over the years. In addition to the eight lectures, this version includes four discussions by Steiner, color plates of Steiner’s chalk drawings, the address to the members of the Agricultural Experimental Circle, Steiner’s report to members of the Anthroposophical Society after the lectures, Steiner’s handwritten notes to the Agriculture Course, further agricultural indications given by Steiner, and “New Directions in Agriculture,” by Ehrenfried Pfeiffer (a colleague of Steiner’s who brought biodynamic agriculture to North America).