From the Bronx to the Barn
Our Farm - Our Mission
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Bull Brook Keep
Our farm is all about reconnecting to basic values: real food, farming that heals and protects, and, ultimately, living a more grounded life.
Dave and I work to make solid links between what we eat and how its grown. We work to connect the dots so that you can make food choices that
- Connect you to great tasting, high-nutrition food
- Connect food lovers to farmers dedicated to environmental stewardship, community, and re-invigorating local economies
Dave and I raise our cattle on 72 acres of rolling pasture. We don't feed grain, spray pesticides, use hormones or lace feed with antibiotics.
Our fields offer our cows diverse grasses and clovers, wild flowers and herbs: a mix they thrive on. We provide bales of hay - dried grasses and alfalfa - during the winter months. We don't feed grain or corn because cattle are designed to digest grasses best.
Bull Brook Keep is located on the western edge of north central Wisconsin. Although we're just an hour-and-a-half's drive from the Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota metro area, our farm is a world apart from the hustle and bustle of the city.
The drive to our farm winds through green fields and along tree-lined streams. It's a geography blessed with hundreds of clear blue lakes.
We're part of the St. Croix River Foodshed, an area that includes several wineries, numbers of artisan cow- and sheep-cheese operations, dozens of small-family vegetable farms, and vast fields of corn and soybeans. There are alpaca and bison ranches, and a draft horse operation just minutes from our farm.
We're part of the St. Croix River Foodshed, an area that includes several wineries, numbers of artisan cow- and sheep-cheese operations, dozens of small-family vegetable farms, and vast fields of corn and soybeans. There are alpaca and bison ranches, and a draft horse operation just minutes from our farm.
We named our farm for the creek that runs across its southeastern corner, and for the idea that we will be a "keep" or safeguard for a handful of key values: living in thanksgiving to God, producing great-tasting food, practicing environmental stewardship and good animal husbandry, making a sustainable living, and serving family, friends and community.
To Order Beef
We sell 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef by the quarter, half and whole. We are now taking orders for beef that will be available in fall. Please contact us directly for more information: 651-238-8525, or sylvia@bronxtobarn.com.
About Health Benefits
Grass-fed beef offers a variety of health benefits. The meat is lean, yet sufficiently marbled for great flavor. There are numbers of sourcs that document the nutritional benefits of pastured livestock. Click on the "Resources" button on the left to find the links.
Connecting People, Ideas and Resources
This blog
chronicles the steps and stumbles Dave and I are experiencing as we establish our farm. The website offers links to helpful resources as you continue your search for great food and better farming practices.
I also cohost Deep Roots Radio every Saturday morning, 8:30-9:00 a.m. Central Time on WPCA Radio, 95.7 FM.
Streamed live, cohost Dave Corbett and I interview ranchers, authors, chefs, film makers, educators, scientists, veterinarians, farmers and marketers from across the Midwest and around the country. Podcasts of these interviews can be found on this website.
About Us
A baby boomer, I was born and reared in New York City. My family's apartment in the South Bronx was a third-storey walk-up in a brick tenement building. It was one of the thousands. The smells and sounds of a dozen nations spilled into the streets where my friends and I played soldier, stick bat baseball, hop-scotch and tag. Young boys would sometimes do battle with hand-made kites, razors and broken glass affixed to tail and leading edges. And when a kite was sliced free and begin to spiral to the ground, kids would yell "Ahh - hooo- tah" as they scrambled for the falling trophy.
After college, I traveled to the Midwest to be a television reporter. That was in the early 1970's.
I've written about farming and small community living for decades. During my career in public relations, I've served public and private organizations in health care, sustainable agriculture, manufacturing and education. I am currently working for a private foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota.
My husband David Toftness has been a chiropractor for over 30 years, serving families from throughout Polk County, Wisc. and the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. metro area. He is certified by the State of Wisconsin in nutritional counseling.
Contact us at sylvia@bronxtobarn.com