# Applied Biodynamics — Issue 063 (Winter 2008–2009) **By JPI Admin** · 2025-12-31 _Applied Biodynamics_ Issue 063 (Winter 2008–2009) restores Ehrenfried Pfeiffer’s whole-farm questionnaire and Hugh J. Courtney’s method for building disciplined, site-specific advisory records. [**Download Issue 063 PDF**](https://go.jpibd.org/ab-063) ## A living advisory tool from Ehrenfried Pfeiffer When Courtney helped transfer Josephine Porter’s preparation work in 1984, he also received boxes of books and papers from her daughter, Abby Porter. Among them were completed farm questionnaires prepared in anticipation of visits from Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. More examples arrived with the equipment JPI received in 1995 when it assumed exclusive production of the [Pfeiffer Biodynamic Compost Starter](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-compost) and [Pfeiffer Field and Garden Spray](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-spray). Courtney spent years restoring and modernizing the questionnaire, consulting experienced farmers and growers so it could serve JPI’s advisory work. Its purpose is not to reduce a farm to a formula. It creates a richly structured picture—geology, soil, slope, water, weather, vegetation, crops, animals, fertility practices, and management—so the advisor can perceive relationships before arriving on site. ## Begin with the geological foundation The questionnaire embodies Rudolf Steiner’s instruction that plant growth must first be understood in relation to the geological foundation from which it arises. A farm profile therefore begins below the crop: underlying rock and parent material, soil depth and texture, drainage, water movement, exposure, slope, and the wider form of the landscape. From there the record expands into climate, field history, rotations, manure and compost, preparation use, weeds, pests, tree belts, livestock, yields, crop quality, and the farm’s economic and human setting. Completing the same categories at the beginning of advisory work and revisiting them seasonally creates a repeatable record of the farm organism’s development. ## Pfeiffer’s peach-tree diagnosis Helen Philbrick’s “Homestead and Garden Memories” gives a vivid example of Pfeiffer’s observational method. Asked about a wounded peach tree whose trunk continued to decay, he examined not only the wound but the entire setting: tree, soil, hillside, sky, nearby woods, road, drainage ditch, and fences. Philbrick reports that Pfeiffer identified white shelf fungus on distant fence posts as the source continuing decay in the injured tree; after the source was addressed, the tree produced peaches for years. This retrospective anecdote does not independently establish the fungal pathway, but it illustrates Pfeiffer’s method: examine relationships across the landscape rather than isolating the visible symptom. ## From questionnaire to repeatable farm knowledge The original association reportedly received responses from more than 85 percent of the farmers who were sent the questionnaire, and Pfeiffer returned highly useful answers, often in his own handwriting. The structure supported personal advice at scale without losing the individuality of each farm. A strong modern use follows four stages: - **Baseline:** complete every category, add a field map, and photograph fixed observation points. - **Recommendation:** connect each proposed practice to the soil, landscape, crop, animal, or management condition it addresses. - **Application record:** note preparation, quantity, stirring, weather, timing, equipment, and treated area. - **Follow-up:** return to the same questions, maps, and photographs after the application and across successive seasons. This creates comparable farm profiles while preserving the living specificity of place. Advisor and farmer can see what has changed, what relationships are strengthening, and where the next attentive action belongs. ## Application and creative collaboration Pfeiffer emphasized that every farmer can employ the biodynamic method. In his account, practice gradually awakens a new understanding of biological processes, interconnections, and the dynamic play of forces in nature. “Creative collaboration” is his biodynamic ideal; specific biological effects still require observation and testing. The questionnaire supports that step. It trains attention, gives observations a durable form, and makes experience communicable. Used year after year, it becomes a practical instrument for scientific farm memory and increasingly confident biodynamic judgment. ## Pfeiffer’s continuing practical legacy The issue also records JPI’s 2009 offering of Pfeiffer books and lectures on composting, soil fertility, fruit trees, sprays, weeds, self-sufficiency, and the biodynamic method. These subjects remain closely connected: careful landscape reading informs preparation choice; preparation work sharpens observation; and repeated observation develops creative collaboration. ## Key Topics Covered Recovery of Pfeiffer’s historic farm questionnaires from Josephine Porter’s archive and later JPI records. Whole-farm profiles built from geology, soil, slope, water, weather, vegetation, crops, animals, fertility, economics, and management. Rudolf Steiner’s emphasis on geological foundation as context for plant growth. Helen Philbrick’s peach-tree anecdote as an illustration of whole-landscape diagnosis, not independently verified causal proof. Baseline maps, fixed photographs, recommendation logic, application records, and seasonal follow-up. The movement from method application to Pfeiffer’s ideal of creative collaboration with the farm organism. ## Repeatable Practice 1. Complete the same whole-farm questionnaire at baseline, attach a field map, mark fixed observation and sampling points, and document the geological and management context. 2. Connect every recommendation to a stated condition and record preparation, batch, dose, stirring, equipment, date, weather, treated area, and all co-interventions. 3. Measure fixed outcomes such as soil tests, infiltration, crop growth, yield, storage, weed and pest counts, animal condition, labor, costs, and photographs. 4. Repeat at consistent seasonal intervals, compare with untreated or standard-practice areas where feasible, retain null or adverse results, and revise advice only from the accumulated record. ## Explore Related Resources - [Pfeiffer Biodynamic Compost Starter](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-compost) and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-pfeiffer-compost) - [Pfeiffer Field and Garden Spray](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-spray) and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-pfeiffer-spray) - [Weeds and What They Tell Us](https://go.jpibd.org/book-weeds) by Ehrenfried Pfeiffer - [Biodynamic Tree Paste](https://go.jpibd.org/product-tree-paste) and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-tree-paste) - [Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course](https://go.jpibd.org/book-agriculture-course) ## Articles - Restoring a Useful Legacy from Ehrenfried Pfeiffer (H. J. Courtney)  - Homestead and Garden Memories (peach-tree excerpt by H. Philbrick)  - Ehrenfried Pfeiffer on practical biodynamics and creative collaboration (quoted in H. Moore)  - Books and Lectures by Pfeiffer Available from JPI  ## Citation Source: _Applied Biodynamics_, Issue No. 63, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Winter 2008–2009. **Tags:** Applied Biodynamics Archive, Biodynamic Agriculture --- > Source: [The Josephine Porter Institute](https://www.jpibiodynamics.org/blogs/applied-biodynamics/applied-biodynamics-issue-063-winter-2008-2009)