Burr Oak Produce:  HISTORY
          A Natures' Way Farm, nestled on a high sand basin within the coulee region hills of the drift-less area in western Wisconsin. 
Our Burr Oak farm site was purchased in 1969 by my father after selling the family dairy farm. During the 60's & 70's very involved in science, biology and land conservation in school, I brought these interests home to rest.  I left home to return 20 years the later and started what is now Burr Oak Produce. The business has had its ups and downs over the years but the land stands true. 
          After respectfully caring for and working the land for several years it was becoming evident that something was missing in the "big picture of things". Rosa and I could both sense the land was telling us something.  Being Certified Organic and applying all the common organic practices and methods just wasn't enough. Even though we had practiced all the natural growing methods, resting, rotation, mulching, compost, no chemical pesticides, no herbicides, no synthetic chemical fertilizers, ...yet something just wasn't right. The food looked great and was tasty etc...  but it seemed to lack life-energy.
          Over the winter of 1998 -'99 while reminiscing in a box of school items, I came across some articles and study notes. The most interesting were the notes on Biodynamic farming.  In these notes I believe I found the element that was missing.  After some quick research and thought I started to plan.  The basic plan was to let blocks of the land lay fallow to intensively and biodynamically rebuild these areas, while continuing to growing crops on the remaining land.
          The next spring the my plan was put into action. One third of the tillable land was to lay fallow for a period of two years. I could tell the healing process was really starting to work the second year.  Summer 2001 the crops grew phenomenally well in the biodynamically healed soil.  The produce looked so healthy, felt different, texture and flavors are so pleasing more important, the food is wholesome, satisfying to eat.

          Unfortunately for me in 2001, I was losing a little energy day by day and could barely make it through a half day of light work without laying down to rest. I found I had some serious health problems.  

Conventional Medicine, much like conventional farming, immediately started pushing pills and prescribed for me to start taking dangerous chemical treatments for a year.  The treatments may offer a 30% chance to cure me, but either way, the treatment would 100% cause irreparable damage to my immune system and possibly other organs and would likely require me to go on a regiment of expensive medications for the remainder of my life. 
NOTE THE ODDS % I WAS GIVEN for cure.  
I support medical practitioners and clinics for fixing broken bones, cuts, necessary surgeries, etc. and especially in preventative medicine techniques utilizing lab tests, to analyze peoples conditions and nutritional deficiencies.  However, personally I feel the pharmaceutical companies have the medical industry by the balls and keep squeezing,  the same as the chemical companies are keeping tight grips politically on large scale industrial farming and making attempts to controlling seed production further and feed their profits for shareholders.

In my personal case, the conventional doctors done their job and performed the lab tests.  And they provided me counseling as to:

• the potentially poisonous synthetic chemical treatment procedure they prescribed, 

• the SIGNIFICANT debilitating side-effects I WOULD have to endure for a year of the treatments (or longer), IF I COULD CONTINUE TREATMENTS TOLERATING SIDE-EFFECTS.  

• I really appreciated the advice of what to expect and my chances for cure.  The info helped me choose, NOT to take the treatments

• I still utilize clinical services for testing, but I haven't felt this good for 20 years.

I can't recall a visit to the Dr. office without coming out with a prescription for DANGEROUS SYNTHETIC CHEMICAL DRUGS. 

I DO NOT RECALL CONVENTIONAL DOCTORS TELLING ME TO TAKE A SUPPLEMENT OR EAT FRESH HEALTHY FOOD FOR A TREATMENT OR CURE, except one.

After the proposed treatment consultations, at my next clinic appointment, an elderly Asian practitioner examined me.  After he examined my charts he checked me over and asked me what I knew of my condition and options.  He indicated that conventional medicine doesn't have a cure for my condition.  He did however, indicate there are some other alternative natural treatments that were showing positive results, without the side-effects and additional organ/system damage.

Fortunately for me a few days after my visit to the clinic, a family member and I were talking about Biodynamic gardening vs. organic gardening, nutritional healing, supplements, etc.. These discussions led me to think nutritional supplements sounded a lot like the Biodynamic farming principles and practices I applied to heal the land on my farm. 
I sought out some advice about nutritional supplements to use along with my natural biodynamically grown food, which would cleanse my body and help my body to heal itself. After taking the essential nutritional supplements I began to notice the difference in my energy level within a few days. I noticed the changes and subtle differences in how I felt and my energy was increasing daily. Within a few weeks I could put in a full day of work. Three months later I was working 12-14 hr days and more.  Now six years later, other than old age starting to creep in, my energy levels and health are still going strong.  I regularly put in 16-20 hr. days. 

I really don't care to tell everyone about my medical problems, really I don't.  But it is the best way I can relate my attitude and motivation for starting up such a monumental project.  The national and international unification toward new personal nutritional standards based and focused around the Agricultural practices used to grow food.  A global nutritional and environmental revolution, aimed to localize food production improving nutritional value available in food Biodynamically grown beyond organic standards (USDA Organic standards)

The human body - like earth, is an amazing organism. In many cases if the damage is not too sever both can heal themselves,  or with a little supplemental help.

Continuing with the farm history...

          We have provided high quality food to our core group of CSA customers for over 10 years.  Conversations with several members and other farmers (and their similar personal experiences as mine above) was also inspiration and brought about this new organization of gardeners and small farmers, for public health.

         We will continue to grow and provide high quality produce to our members and community of neighbors and farmers market customers, however my personal focus will be on the cultivation of a much larger crop of members and farmers, joining together to grow healthy communities in our area, and plans of national and global networks.

I wrote down some notes from a research report that you need to read.

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