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Dr. Lorand is enthusiastically engaged with visioning and helping manifest an ecological, ethical, spiritual future for agriculture and nutrition. He is a practical farmer and gardener and together with his wife, farms and gardens on a small, biodynamic farm.
General Background
Lorand has been a farmer, gardener, university professor, private consultant, anthroposophical teacher, author, inventor, and researcher - as well as a member of the pioneering group that founded and spread the csa movement in North America. He was the founder of a unique organic/biodynamic catering firm for families, creator of the first fully accredited BA and MA in biodynamics worldwide and founder of several biodynamic learning communities in the US and in Europe. He was Director of the North American Biodynamic Training program and Associate Director of the North American Biodynamic Association. Lorand is also the author of articles on various aspects of biodynamic farming, gardening and viticulture, both in English and German.
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Biographics
Lorand was born in New York, raised and educated in both Europe and North America recieving his love for nature and agriculture from his parents who had beautiful vegetable, fruit and flower gardens at home including table grapes. Their love of caring for the land, eating healthy foods and enjoying life - was immeasurably important in his developing love for his profession. He spent teenage summers on hog and cattle farms in the Midwest - which then led to his decision to become a farmer. Formally trained in farming, gardening and viticulture in a classical European apprenticeship, Lorand received his Swiss Certification in Farm Management (conventional agriculture) in 1978. His journeyman years were spent primarily in the Jura Mountains, managing the farm of his biodynamic mentor, an 85-year old gentleman, who had a lifetime of farming experience and over 50 years of anthroposophical / biodynamic background.
In addition to completed university studies in both politics and linguistics (in Germany and the US), Lorand received his PhD in Agricultural Education from Penn State University's College of Agricultural Sciences with an award winning doctoral dissertation on biodynamics. He is a former Director of the North American Biodynamic Training Program in Kimberton and a Past Associate Director of the North American Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association. He helped to pioneer the Community Supported Agriculture movement in North America and helped to start similar projects in Europe, such as the first "Pergola" Community Farms in The Netherlands.
Since 1981 Lorand has worked both part and full time as an ecological agriculture / biodynamic teacher - trainer - coach and consultant. After several years as a full-time university faculty member (1997-2002) in plant science and sustainable agriculture (teaching organic viticulture, organic gardening, composting, community agriculture, conventional and alternative pest management) - as well as establishing the first full accredited BA and MA university programs in biodynamics worldwide - Lorand returned to his consulting practice full-time in 2002 establishing biodynamic study and development groups in California and Oregon. He also consulted in several countries around the world from his offices in California while managing a small biodynamic farmstead at home and co-founding a successful, professional organic/biodynamic catering service for families. In 2004 he established an office in Europe and has since converted over 3 dozen top wineries/vineyards to biodynamics in 6 European countries and has given training programs to over 90 wineries and to dozens other kinds of farming operation managers.
Furthermore, in recent years as a part of his teaching and consulting, Lorand has developed three new pieces of agricultural equipment, field tested them and has them in use in over 30 farming operations. Additionally, Lorand has developed new methods of composting, soil care, plant nutrition and pest management - also successfully field tested and in effective use on dozens of farms.
The thread in all these activities over the last 35+ years has been to consistently improve the condition of agriculture and nutrition through education, training and innovation based on excellence in instruction, inspiration and modeling.
Lorand's focus today remains in helping farmers become effective independent diagnosticians of health and illness on farm - able to answer the key questions: 1. What is healthy? 2. What is not healthy? and: 3. What appropriate therapies are required to return what is unhealthy to a healthful state?
This approach comes from a growing understanding of agroecology, anthroposophy and ecological farming practice. Furthermore, Lorand understands biodynamics as anthroposophical medicine applied to agriculture and sees the need for farmers to embrace a "diagnostic-therapeutic" approach to their profession.
Increasingly, anthroposophical medicine has become one of a few complimentary medical systems recognized as highly effective. In 2009, the people of Switzerland voted to have anthroposophical medicine, along with classical homeopathy, pyhto-medicine (classical central European medicine) and traditional Chinese medicine put under protection of the country's constitution after years of government / scientific testing that proved the effectiveness of these complimentary systems for human health. The step towards broader acceptance and application of anthroposophical medical principles for agriculture cannot be far behind.
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