What is biodynamic agriculture? The term “beyond organic” seems to get thrown around in certain circles, but what does that mean? According to Elizabeth Candelario with Demeter USA, it’s essentially a very comprehensive form of organic farming.
“Biodynamic looks at a farm as if it was a living organism—self-contained and self-sustaining,” Candelario said. “It’s the highest form of ecological farming.”
Founded in Germany in 1932, Demeter International is the organization that gives the biodynamic certification to farms and industry related companies throughout the world. Demeter—also the name of the Greek goddess of harvest and agriculture—has a nonprofit branch in the United States and holds the exclusive right to the term to use as a certification, according to Candelario.
It’s hugely popular in Europe, she added, with 10 percent of farmland in Germany certified biodynamic.
The certification not only applies to farmers, but wineries and vineyards as well. Among the hundreds of wineries in Santa Barbara County, there are a handful of wineries with such certification.
Bob and Louisa Lindquist started Qupe and Verdad in Santa Maria in 1982 and 2000, respectively, but didn’t come out with a biodynamic-certified wine until 2009.
Louisa is the winemaker and partner for Verdad, while her husband, Bob, is the founder, winemaker, and partner for Qupe.
Louisa describes the method of farming as a more holistic approach to farming, using a lot of the same principles as organic, except biodynamic goes further.
For instance, according to Louisa, they bring in goats and sheep—that aren’t tall enough to reach the vines—to graze in between the rows of vines while the buds are dormant. Some people bring in chickens, she added.
However, it can be difficult for the animals to graze because the drought has made it tough for grass to grow, Louisa said.
Other aspects of biodynamic farming include using varieties of plants that attract insects, or planting stinging nettles that tend to repel pests. Louisa added that there’s also a type of spray made from ground gopher skins that repels the rodent.
Much of what is biodynamic tends to equate with traditional farming methods found in the annual Farmer’s Almanac.
“It’s very similar to the biodynamic calendar,” Louisa said. “It’s traditional farming that took into account the moon and the way planets are moving. A lot of people think it’s fairy dust because we’ve gotten away from that.”
Both Louisa and Candelario agree that the soil is a huge component to biodynamic farming. Lots of tilling is required, and there’s a constant focus on creating a medium with high organic content and lots of organisms. Biodynamic farms play an important role in carbon sequestration, Candelario said.
There are actually two types of certifications for wineries: one for the vineyard and one for the wine itself. In order to put “biodynamic” on the wine label, cultivated yeast can’t be used and sulphur in the wine can’t exceed more than 100 parts per million, Louisa said.
The biodynamic vineyard they use is located in the Edna Valley, near SLO.
But what about the taste? In Louisa’s opinion, white wines are more affected; reds not so much because the barrel aging tends to dominate the taste.
Not all of the Verdad and Qupe wines are biodynamic. Look to the label to find the ones that do have the certification.
Even though biodynamic farming’s been around for almost a century, it’s still catching on in the U.S.
“There’s a small number of restaurants and retail stores that know what it means and pay close attention to the extra effort,” Bob said.
According to Candelario, it’s the wineries that are leading the charge.
“The wine industry in the U.S. was an early adopter,” she said. “Now we see the certification spreading among all types of farms and products.”
Some farms in the county also have the certification, according to the Demeter website, which contains a map of biodynamic locations throughout the world. Other certified wineries and farms in the county include Ampelos Cellars, Martian Ranch and Vineyard, and Beckman-Purisima Vineyards.
There are some drawbacks, according to Bob, mainly that it’s more expensive.
“Theoretically it costs more to farm biodynamic than conventionally,” Bob said, “but when you look at the overall impact, not putting pesticides and herbicides, how do you put a price on that, if you know what I mean?”
Staff Writer David Minsky can be reached at dminsky@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 9-16, 2016.