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Subtle Agroecologies
Building on Kieft’s work, a qualitative study was conducted between 2014 and 2020, through
Stellenbosch University, South Africa, in collaboration with Coventry University, UK. The study
included semi-structured interviews with 17 farmers and food gardeners in South Africa, the
Netherlands, the UK, Italy and China. The following two cases are presented here as examples.
Case Study 1: From Conventional Dairy Farming to Dancing with Cows
In the Gelderland Province in the Netherlands, is a fourth-generation, family-run dairy farm, which
by local standards is large, covering 50 ha and with a herd of 90 cows. It converted from a conventional to certifed organic system in 1991, and in 2004, it became the frst dairy farm in the
Netherlands to stop using antibiotics and vaccines.
The farmer explained that the transition to chemical- and pharmaceutical-free farming was a
struggle: while they continued to use a logical approach to select which of the more than 300 homeopathic remedies to apply, their success rate was only around 50%. However, when they started using
their intuition, their success rate rose to between 80% and 90%, and they now rely almost entirely on
intuition and interspecies communication to determine whether or not, and how, to apply remedies
to the soil and to their animals. By 2014, the incidence of all diseases on their farm was so low that
they were only having to apply three homeopathic remedies a year.
Soon after the family decided to stop cutting the horns off their cows, realising that it plays an
integral part in their digestive and immune systems, and the ‘identity’ of the cows, they rebuilt their
barn to a design that came from a conversation with the cows, in order to make them more comfortable. This design was oval, more spacious and open on all sides, and other farmers in the region have
since copied their design. Over the past 10 years, the farm’s dairy products have received local and
international awards for their quality, and the family report feeling more satisfed with this method
of decision-making. A documentary flm ‘Dancing with Horned Ladies’ portrays their journey. 1
Case Study 2: Partridge Avoids the Pear Tree
In the Yunnan Province of China, near Kunming, is a farmer who applies Pure Land Buddhist practices in his red pear orchard, in particular playing recorded chantings of Amitābha Buddha’s name
to the orchard, changing the music with the seasons. He commenced planting the orchard in 2003
and now has 84,000 trees on his 1,300 mu piece of land (86.7 ha/214 acres). He applies no synthetic
fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides and uses natural farming methods that surpass Chinese organic
standards.
Under the guidance of teachers, he also learned to converse and negotiate with insects and small
animals ‘through will and thoughts’ (intention), feeling and seeing the messages that come from
nature. He uses ‘truth, love and sincerity’ to communicate with the plants, birds and insects on his
land, treating every living being with equal respect, no matter its size.
Every day, he requests from the birds and insects that they only eat the fruit in the 26 mu area
(2% of the total orchard size) that he has designated specifcally for them as ‘free food’, and to
leave the rest of the orchard for human consumption. The result is that, in the designated area, the
incidence of bird and insect damage on fruit and leaves is now 86% on average, but in the main
part of the orchard, the damage is negligible (usually <6%), yielding an average harvest of 94% of
intact, high-quality pears. Although his yield is about 70% of what other local pear growers obtain
with conventional methods, the quality of his produce is three to four times higher across several
1 https://vimeo.com/ondemand/dancingwithhornedladies.
Subtle Agroecologies
Building on Kieft’s work, a qualitative study was conducted between 2014 and 2020, through
Stellenbosch University, South Africa, in collaboration with Coventry University, UK. The study
included semi-structured interviews with 17 farmers and food gardeners in South Africa, the
Netherlands, the UK, Italy and China. The following two cases are presented here as examples.
Case Study 1: From Conventional Dairy Farming to Dancing with Cows
In the Gelderland Province in the Netherlands, is a fourth-generation, family-run dairy farm, which
by local standards is large, covering 50 ha and with a herd of 90 cows. It converted from a conventional to certifed organic system in 1991, and in 2004, it became the frst dairy farm in the
Netherlands to stop using antibiotics and vaccines.
The farmer explained that the transition to chemical- and pharmaceutical-free farming was a
struggle: while they continued to use a logical approach to select which of the more than 300 homeopathic remedies to apply, their success rate was only around 50%. However, when they started using
their intuition, their success rate rose to between 80% and 90%, and they now rely almost entirely on
intuition and interspecies communication to determine whether or not, and how, to apply remedies
to the soil and to their animals. By 2014, the incidence of all diseases on their farm was so low that
they were only having to apply three homeopathic remedies a year.
Soon after the family decided to stop cutting the horns off their cows, realising that it plays an
integral part in their digestive and immune systems, and the ‘identity’ of the cows, they rebuilt their
barn to a design that came from a conversation with the cows, in order to make them more comfortable. This design was oval, more spacious and open on all sides, and other farmers in the region have
since copied their design. Over the past 10 years, the farm’s dairy products have received local and
international awards for their quality, and the family report feeling more satisfed with this method
of decision-making. A documentary flm ‘Dancing with Horned Ladies’ portrays their journey. 1
Case Study 2: Partridge Avoids the Pear Tree
In the Yunnan Province of China, near Kunming, is a farmer who applies Pure Land Buddhist practices in his red pear orchard, in particular playing recorded chantings of Amitābha Buddha’s name
to the orchard, changing the music with the seasons. He commenced planting the orchard in 2003
and now has 84,000 trees on his 1,300 mu piece of land (86.7 ha/214 acres). He applies no synthetic
fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides and uses natural farming methods that surpass Chinese organic
standards.
Under the guidance of teachers, he also learned to converse and negotiate with insects and small
animals ‘through will and thoughts’ (intention), feeling and seeing the messages that come from
nature. He uses ‘truth, love and sincerity’ to communicate with the plants, birds and insects on his
land, treating every living being with equal respect, no matter its size.
Every day, he requests from the birds and insects that they only eat the fruit in the 26 mu area
(2% of the total orchard size) that he has designated specifcally for them as ‘free food’, and to
leave the rest of the orchard for human consumption. The result is that, in the designated area, the
incidence of bird and insect damage on fruit and leaves is now 86% on average, but in the main
part of the orchard, the damage is negligible (usually <6%), yielding an average harvest of 94% of
intact, high-quality pears. Although his yield is about 70% of what other local pear growers obtain
with conventional methods, the quality of his produce is three to four times higher across several
1 https://vimeo.com/ondemand/dancingwithhornedladies.