Creating Fertility Within the Farm Organism: A Biodynamic Case Study from Dark Hollow

As farmers face rising fertilizer costs, supply uncertainty, and increasing dependence on external inputs, biodynamics offers another way of thinking about fertility: not simply as something applied to the land, but as something cultivated within the farm organism itself.

In this presentation at the Chesapeake Biodynamic Network 2026 Annual Conference, Allen Clements will explore the development of Dark Hollow Biodynamic, his 13-acre farmstead in Pennsylvania, as a case study in building fertility from within.

Drawing on practical work with biodynamic preparations, compost, livestock, agroforestry, silvopasture, perennial plantings, and woodland management, Allen will consider how the different elements of a small farm can become increasingly interconnected and self-supporting.

The presentation is part of the 2026 conference theme, “The Fertilizer Crisis & the Biodynamic Response.”

Conference: Chesapeake Biodynamic Network 2026 Annual Conference, November 5-8, 2026
Presentation: Saturday, November 7, 2026
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes