Even among the most ardent supporters of biodynamic agriculture, the issues involving the biodynamic preparations have a distinct air of complexity. To a business owner, explaining to a corporate client or a customer why cow manure is put into a cow horn as an amendment is a demanding task. To practitioners, the effects of the preparations are so subtie that they may seem to be an exercise in belief rather than a practical production tool. This doubt can turn the stirring of the silica and horn manure into a ritual of impatience in the context of a busy schedule. For these reasons and most likely several more there apparentiy is sentiment in biodynamic circles to marginalize or even eliminate theBD preparations from biodynamic practices. Perhaps this is understandable from these perspectives but it reveals a lack of insight into the alchemical principles that Rudolf Steiner introduced in the methods used to make the preparations. The alchemicalmethod of analogy used in the thinking around the preparations is not common knowledge. However, current research in plant and animal physiology is revealing that these more intuitive methods may be important for future developments in agricultural research.
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