Company Leadership

Gary Zimmer, President

Gary Zimmer, Madison, Wis., is a farmer, author, agri-businessman and educator dedicated to biological agriculture. He is recognized around the world for his dedication to improving farming through restoring soils and has spoken to farmers and agribusiness professionals all across the U.S. and in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Through a lifetime in agriculture, Gary has never stopped learning or teaching. Raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm, he studied dairy nutrition, earning a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree from the University of Hawaii, combined with years of hands-on farming experience. Teaching agriculture in southern Minnesota, Gary continued learning, studying, reading, asking questions and looking at ways of farming with an open mind. He began asking questions about the soil and how it relates to healthy and productive plants, which lead him to read The Albrecht Papers.

Gary trained and worked as a Brookside Consultant for two years in southeastern Minnesota.

For the past 25 years, Gary has been evaluating farming practices as a consultant, on his family's farm, and as president of Midwestern Bio-Ag, a biological farming consulting company located in Blue Mounds, Wis. He operates the Bio-Ag Learning Center, where biological farming practices and agricultural products are field tested. The Zimmer family's Otter Creek Organic Farm, which includes a 200-cow organic dairy, also utilizes the ideas Gary has gleaned over a lifetime spent studying agriculture.

Heavily in demand as a speaker, Gary Zimmer appears at dozens of agribusiness, organic and farmer meetings every year. He has spoken to diverse audiences from coast to coast including the Acres USA conference, Innovative Farmers of Ohio Conference; Heart of Maine Resource Conservation & Development, Upper Midwest Organic Conference, Pennsylvania Sustainable Ag Conference, Vermont Grass Farmer's Association Grazing Conference, Wisconsin Grazing Conference, Michigan Governor's Conference on Organic Ag, Texas Organic Farmers, California Polytechnic University, and has participated in farmer education programs in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and South Africa.

Gary is the author of the book, The Biological Farmer, A Complete Guide to the Sustainable & Profitable Biological System of Farming, published in 2000. His focus remains on the soil as the source of nutrients: how healthy soils produce healthy plants for healthy livestock and healthy humans.

Don Gilbertson, Vice President of Operations

A Blue Mounds, WI native and graduate of Barneveld High School, Don is vice president and co-founder of Midwestern Bio-Ag, and was one of the original partners in Bio-Ag of America, a composting and consulting business from 1983-84.

His duties with Bio-Ag include all aspects of inventory and plant operations, skills he honed during service in the United States Air Force, both as an active duty NCO (1957-1965) and with the reserves (1984-1996). He retired in October of 1996 with nearly 22 years of total military service, achieving the rank of Master Sergeant.

Don also dairy farmed in southwestern Wisconsin for 22 years, 1965-1988. He still is active om agriculture on a small farm south of Blue Mounds were he has a small herd of registered Corriente cattle.

"It's a marvelous feeling to be able today to be a leader in biological and organic farming methods and have premier products available for our farmers," says Don. There was a growing number of farmers who were looking for something beyond the conventional "but there was no one to guide them, show them the way, or offer them products." That has been Midwestern Bio-Ag's role. "With Gary Zimmer's ag experience, Fred Kurschner's expertise and Don Faber's financial savvy, we put together a program that makes logical and economic sense" for farmers.

Fred Kurschner, Vice President of Sales

Finding and training new consultants is one of Fred Kurschner's main duties as Vice President Sales for Midwestern Bio-Ag. He is one of the co-founders of both Midwestern Bio-Ag and Bio-Ag of America.

Fred brings to Bio-Ag's independent consultants his own extensive experience in agricultural marketing as well as owning and operating his own home remodeling business.
His experience includes sales of animal health products including Impro, probiotics and dairy minerals for Wisconsin Farm Care in southwest Wisconsin from 1978-1983;: owner and operater of K&K Enterprises, buying and remodeling homes/buildings for resale, 1973-1982; grocery store owner: Forreston, IL, 1969-73; Blue Ribbon Sausage sales to grocery stores, sausage and other meat products, building route from scratch to over 60 customers, 1965-69; Meatcutter, HyVee Food Stores, Chilton, IA and other stores, 1957-65.
Fred is a native of Barron, WI and a graduate of Barron High School who now resides in Madison, WI.

"Feed the soil life, we teach it, we preach it. Feed the soil microbes. If you feed them, they'll feed you." In the end, the solution is simple, he says. "We balance a soil to create an environment to feed soil life using calcium, sulfur and trace minerals. We give them a nice home to live in, and the food they'll thrive on." When a farmer accomplishes that, he's raising healthy plants and healthy livestock. Lower input costs include less spent on chemicals, lower vet bills, less spent on protein and commodities. Farmers can survive the low prices and thrive on the good prices because their bottom line is as healthy as their land.

"The whole thing is, in a nutshell, is to create that environment for the microbes and earthworms. Once you've got that environment, don't put anything on there that is toxic to kill them. The third step is to feed them. Then, as Gary Zimmer says, that's our way of making the farm sustainable."

Don Faber, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Don Faber took a very roundabout route, as in several times around the world, to becoming a partner in Midwestern Bio-Ag. Born in his mother's homeland of Iceland and mostly raised in the Middle East where his father worked for an American oil company. He graduated from high school in Rome, Italy, coming back to live in the U.S. at age 17.
Don spent six years in the U.S. Air Force Special Operations as a Pararescue Specialist, trained in parachuting, scuba (a sport he still avidly pursues), mountain rescue, and advanced EMT skills; serving in Southeast Asia 1968-69, then three years with the NASA affiliated Apollo Recovery Team.

Attending college on the GI Bill, Don graduated with honors from the University of West Florida with a degree in Biology and Resource Management. Don worked in Land Use Planning in Florida, and for the next six years worked in Saudi Arabia as a business analyst for ARAMCO, and traveled around the world several more times. He subsequently completed his MBA with an emphasis on finance.

Don is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for all MBA affiliated companies, setting up fiscal controls and management controls. He has been with Midwestern Bio-Ag since 1984.
Don enjoys helping people's dreams turn into a business reality.