Farming with the Moon
“OH, You're the Guy Who is Farming with the Moon!”
“OH, You're the Guy Who is Farming with the Moon!”
A farmer at a conference recently stopped me after presenting Sustainable Settings’ data and whole systems land management practices (that include good sound “horizontal” physical practices we all seem to recognize in our linear, reductionist, mechanized, industrial, organic, now regenerative, and “conventional” practice here in the USA - AND the “vertical” Biodynamic and beyond, more conscious, metaphysical aspects we utilize)
and he said, “Oh you're the guy farming with the Moon. “Yes,” I said, “that‘s right.”
I asked him if he was a farmer and he said yes. I said, “Well, I don’t know about you but I find farming to be a lot of work.” He agreed. I continued, “And I will take all the help I can get.” And he said “Well, Me too!”
I then asked if he wouldn't like to gain 10%, 20%, even 30-40% more fertility, health across the whole farm organism, and more vitality in livestock, higher butter fat in his dairy, better customer satisfaction with more potent flavor and nutrient density, increased yields with lower input costs? And he said, “Well who wouldn’t!”
Then I offered, “Well, you are farming with the Moon too.” And he shook his head and looked at me in disbelief.
“Look, I said, the Moon and all the planets and all of the stars, constellations, the entire surrounding universe is rolling by every minute of everyday. These are subtle, and not so at times, forces that trigger shifts in our atmosphere and stimulate in different ways all the life forms that we interact with in our farms, including us. So this is going on whether you would like to acknowledge it or not.” I think I see a nod and my now curious agrarian is staring at the ground.
Continuing to address his doubt I offered some of our in-the-trenches trials, “What we have found, and this is by no means anything new as it is an ancient understanding and practice, is that when we honor the life and all these flows and rhythms and integrate them into when we do particular things on our farms and ranches like when to till or sow or cultivate or prune and apply additional “amendments” such as Biodynamic preparations, homeopathic treatments and intentions that we broadcast across the land we see beneficial shifts in vitality across the whole farm organism and in the individual expression of soil health, plants, crops, livestock, etc....
He’s still standing there in silence now and looking back up at me his eyes now fixed on mine I gently take the opening again, “So you are farming with the Moon too…but if you are unaware of the possible ways to harvest these forces in your land management then they can also work against you. And or certainly not help your efforts. So you have to decide if you want to let go of any of your conventional superstitions and try something NOT new but tried and true and practiced for centuries before any such linear science and cultural priorities shifted away from this 10,000 year old experiment we call Agriculture. We decided 25-years ago to let go of all we were taught in conventional schools and to more directly engage in a humble dialog with All of the Life we Co-create with. And that is when our soils, fields, livestock, and all of surrounding nature came to life. Our farm became a balanced and harmonious sanctuary. The wild returned and the amount of eco-system services from soil life to insects, to wild birds, and many others gained is remarkable. We now have trillions of staff we could never afford.”
“If you saw my talk you saw the nearly decade of living soil data with upward trending soil life metrics featuring the science that says what we are doing is working. Though we personally do not need such scientific data, as we are on the ground and paying attention to the shifts in vitality and have customer feedback of astounding flavor profiles in our products, we do these Haney and PLFA living soil tests to help guide us but mainly to help other people come to see the difference when we get back into relationship with All of the Life we work with.
Something seems to be resonating with him, as he hasn’t walk off yet, so I cultivated the thought. “You see soil is alive and so are all of the brilliant other beings that make up our Whole Farm Organisms. So we, western humans, fell out of relationship with them a while back. But we found out we still can call them up and they are waiting for us. They are talking to us. We just have to relearn how to hear them again and to co-create with them again. This is when agriculture gets really interesting!
Then I offer him some space. “Certainly do not believe anything I say. But try it before you write it off. It’s really not that difficult. It’s just a shift in our thinking. The compaction we hear about is really just between our ears.
I got a big “Huh?” from my new farmer friend. But I figured at least some seeds were planted. I continued, “We are amazing creatures and can do so much more than we are taught we can. It is our intentions and our conscious efforts in our relationships with the Life we work with that drives a rich collaboration and that builds islands of health that resonate health and balance and produce healing food and landscapes.
Anyway, I closed; “This is just what we have stumbled on in the last 25-years of direct contact and experimentation. We certainly did not know what we were doing but we tried things and here we are now with rock solid data and ready to help others run with it. So, by all means come bye and taste our food and you decide.” -tbl 2.26.2023
In Stewardship,
Maestro di Niente
Brook LeVan – Co-founder Director