Tag Archives: cancer

Half Hill Farm: Celebrating 10 years!

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Christian and Vince (2013) – photo by BrassPenny Photography

10th ANNIVERSARY: All year we are reflecting on ten years of big dreams and big change at Half Hill Farm. A lot can happen in ten years, but one thing is true: life has a way of showing you the path forward in every challenge if your heart and mind are open to it.

We moved to Woodbury from Murfreesboro to build and open Short Mountain Distillery for the Kaufman brothers after helping change county law in 2010 by referendum to allow it. I had just quit my job producing evening news for a local television station in search of something with more meaning and purpose and found way more than I could have imagined.

It took 16 months to build the distillery but not nearly that long to be inspired enough by the community and country living to want to slightly change direction again to start our own farm.

It almost didn’t happen. We looked for months when we saw a “for sale by owner” sign on what appeared to be a heavily wooded property. When we drove up the first part of the driveway, we stopped and looked at each other and said we should leave before seeing anything more. Something about the entrance kept us away for months until we saw a listing that showed what we had missed. Luckily, it was still on the market, and we bought it!

When we moved to our new farm in 2012, a good friend opened our eyes to nature’s possibilities with a surprise find of a giant 9 lbs Maitake mushroom growing at the base of an old oak tree. It moved us toward growing mushrooms, but not nearly as seriously as life had in store.

We started our farm with selling our organic vegetables at our local farmers market, but everything changed when Vince’s mother was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. The farming side waned as we focused more on mushrooms and what they could do for her.

While her quality of life was dramatically improved, stage four eventually proved too difficult a challenge for Sandy. Her passing was hard, and we almost decided to stop farming when friends who needed our mushroom extracts encouraged us to keep going.

Over time, the word-of-mouth growth in demand for the mushroom extracts we made required us to move to a larger commercial kitchen we invited another new business to share. Very soon after, our new gut healthy beverage took off and we brought on a partner to get bigger space that has grown us into three retail stores.

Despite the growth, we are still based in our small hometown of Woodbury, TN. We are here because of help from a lot of friends and neighbors who believe in our vision. We still make our mushroom extracts with all organic ingredients and a monkish reverence in service to customers who need it. Because of stories of healing and personal transformation from our customers, we personally take the products every single day and will for life.

In the past ten years, we have gone from making our liquid mushroom dual extracts because no one else was to seeing a whole industry grow around what these mushrooms can do for people. We see what some get wrong and what some get right. We see companies making the most of it and companies with the same level of passion for better health & well being.

It’s exciting to see customers’ mushroom consciousness grow no matter how it happens. However you come to use mushrooms in your life, know that the roots of our dedication to better health & well being with mushrooms runs deep and is personal. Thank you for continuing to trust what we do and for choosing our farm’s products!

Shop our mushroom extracts and other products online, or visit our retail stores:

Half Hill Farm’s Mushroom Dual Extracts – new packaging, same quality and care!

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MUSHROOM EXTRACTS: When we created our farm’s popular mushroom dual extracts several years ago, we started by sparing no expense on quality because we created it for a very special member of our family battling cancer. Today, that same focus on quality and care is the reason we’ve grown into what we are today, and we will never forget that!

In a couple weeks, you’ll start seeing our new mushroom extracts packaging that will help customers see and pour the product better. It’s the exact same product made by the same people you love and trust with all the same high quality ingredients our friends and loved ones deserve.

Thank you for trusting us to help keep you on the path to better health and well being!

Purchase Half Hill Farm’s Mushroom Dual Extracts online and save 15% when you buy 4 or more 200ml bottles in any combination using coupon code “4pack.” Save 10% anytime with the one time use code “intro10.”

Read more on Half Hill Farm’s mushroom dual extracts:

Please consult your doctor if taking any of our products for health reasons. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Turkey Tail mushroom extract and quality of life for dogs with cancer

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Our every day work is a mission to bring hope and healing into the world. We know the science behind what we do, but it’s the “why” part that gets to the deeper purpose and meaning of our work. When we ask what good we can do with our time and talents, we are answered by your heartfelt letters. 

Our almost 12 year old golden girl, Serenity, was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma of the spleen on Nov. 20, 2018. I was told that we only had a few days left, that is was aggressive, and there was nothing we could do. However, through some research and desperation I came across a study from Penn State in which they had used Turkey Tail mushroom extract on dogs with the same cancer as Serenity’s. After further searching I came across your farm and Turkey Tail product. Fast forward to today and we just received our 2nd order of Turkey Tail extract. We’ve been putting it in Serenity’s food twice a day. She is maintaining, has a great appetite, wants to play and run, and goes on walks several times a day. So, we are feeling thankful that we found your product as well as extremely blessed to still have our Serenity with us and living what we would call a good quality of life. We thought you might enjoy hearing our experience/story.
Sincerely,
Rhonda & Bruce Arney

Serenity’s story is a very common one for us, each with a unique character and name forever etched on the hearts of families who care for them. What we often find with customers who use our Turkey Tail mushroom dual extract for their dogs is improved quality of life and life beyond expectation (months to a year longer than prognosis). The results shared by people fighting cancer are even more remarkable (read reviews).

Turkey Tail mushrooms aren’t a cure for cancer, but your experiences with our product over the past few years have helped validate the growing body of science behind it and opened our eyes to the power of nature to help us rise to any health challenge.

Please consult your doctor before taking any of our products for health reasons. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Made in Tennessee: CBD full spectrum extract hemp oil

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Half Hill Farm is proud to introduce our 2500mg CBD full spectrum extract hemp oil for better health & well being. Each drop is 5mg of CBD. Our farm’s hemp oils also come in 500mg (1mg per drop) and 1000mg (2mg per drop) formulations.

Half Hill Farm uses organically grown domestic industrial hemp from Kentucky that goes through CO2 extraction and then is formulated and blended in our FDA registered facility in Woodbury, Tennessee. Each batch is tested by third-party independent labs to ensure quality and compliance with results linked from the label.

Half Hill Farm was the first certified organic farm to grow industrial hemp in the state of Tennessee. We helped change state law to bring the promising health benefits of CBD to the people and were the first retailer of CBD in Tennessee. We are now on the manufacturing side producing quality CBD hemp products.

  • 500mg CBD full spectrum extract hemp oil (1 drop = 1 mg) – $48
  • 1000mg CBD full spectrum extract hemp oil (1 drop = 2 mg) – $87
  • 2500mg CBD full spectrum extract hemp oil (1 drop = 5 mg) – $189

Want to retail our products in your store? Sign up for a wholesale account here. You can purchase our farm’s CBD Hemp Oil and other CBD products at the following locations:

Please consult your doctor before taking any of our products for health reasons. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

The health benefits of Cordyceps Militaris mushrooms

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Our farm’s journey with the power of mushrooms started with a family illness and continues to bring healing to many friends and customers. That’s why we’re pleased to announce the addition of Cordyceps Militaris to our farm’s line of mushroom extracts!

Cordyceps are a dietary therapeutic mushroom that’s been used for centuries to improve the immune system and boost energy levels. Cordyceps were first used in the mountains of Tibet thousands of years ago as a remedy for fatigue and recovery from illness. The mushroom grows naturally on a caterpillar at elevations of 12,000 feet above sea level in China and throughout the world.

The addition of Cordyceps comes after years of listening to and observing the needs of customers who regularly use our mushroom extracts for better health and well being. Half Hill Farm also makes Red Reishi, Chaga, Turkey Tail and Lion’s Mane mushroom extracts.

Benefits of Cordyceps Mushroom extracts*:

  • Reduces inflammation & oxidative stress
  • Helps recovery from illness and exercise
  • Enhances liver & lung function
  • Improves tolerance of chemotherapy and radiation
  • Reduces tumor development
  • Improves sex drive

Studies show many benefits to using codyceps mushroom extracts including a reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress, the leading causes of most disease. This makes cordyceps, along with chaga mushrooms, a good anti-aging and recovery supplement.

Athletes use cordyceps for recovery and performance as studies show the mushroom’s adenosine levels help increase the body’s supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is a primary source of energy during physical activity. Cordyceps also increase the body’s natural production of nitric oxide optimizing oxygen absorption and improving lung and liver function.

Cordyceps militaris produces cordycepin, a bioactive compound with antitumor activity in various cancers. The mushroom’s polysaccharides help support patients in the treatment of cancers and also contains 18 essential amino acids, vitamins E, K, B1, B2 and B12, sterols and antioxidants superoxide dismutase and glutathione.

You can purchase our farm’s Cordyceps Mushroom Extract online or at our store in Woodbury and the Wellness Emporium of Bell Buckle.

Studies on potential uses of Cordyceps Militaris mushrooms:

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

What customers are saying about our mushroom extracts

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Half Hill Farm’s mushroom extracts – available online and our retail store in Woodbury, TN

When it comes to using natural remedies alone, or as adjunct therapies in the treatment of disease, no two people will have the exact same result. Customer feedback from the past three years, however, has shown us patterns of success that are making a difference in their health and well being.

While we are not doctors and cannot make any claims that our products can diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, we are proud to hear a growing number of customers come from doctor recommendations. Our mushroom extraction process was first formulated for a family member to match standardized processes used by scientists and ethnobotanists for the purposes of many clinical trials and studies because we were not happy with the quality available in the market. The recognition of our quality and reports of better health and well being are humbling and give purpose to our work. It’s also as close to an authentic voice our products can have on behalf of what they can do for others.

Patterns of success: The general experience shared by our customers is that doctors are amazed at better than expected results (These customers didn’t experience the hair loss, appetite loss or nausea typically associated with primary care options and often seen in patients around them, and their blood work often surprises doctors showing strong immune response where a dramatic drop was expected). These observations match the results of recent U.S. based clinical trials. Customers with the most success take 2-3 times the daily serving of our extracts during treatment for various cancers followed by regular daily servings as maintenance. Requesting integrative care options early in cancer treatment exposed customers to alternative treatment options that include mushroom extracts. Examples of integrative care programs can be found at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. One of the most common patterns with these customers is a change in diet that adds more juicing and less meats as well as adding turmeric and black pepper seed oil (piperine in the black pepper dramatically increases the bioavailability of curcumin in turmeric to reduce inflammation).

Feedback: Below are excerpts of written feedback in letters, cards and emails from some of our verified customers who have agreed to let us share their experiences. We have slightly anonymized the names of customers below, but if you have questions or more testimony to share, add them in comments.

My mother has stage 4 Lung and brain cancer. She was given 6 months to live and we just passed year 2. She is on a maintenance chemo and in addition to her vitamin regiment I think your product is helping save her life. Thank you! ~ S.O. in Minnesota

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I purchase your extract for our son who has been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. He has had surgery and had 12 rounds of chemo with no avail. He is now on his second round of chemo for eight treatments. He has been taking the turkey tail extract (a friend recommended it and you) for four weeks today and he feels so much better! His appetite is back and his numbers have been “phenomenal”! He will be having a CT Scan the beginning of December and we are hoping it shows his tumors being affected (we are actually hoping for a “miracle” and it be gone). He is surprised at the amount of energy he has now that he is taking your product. He is taking 2 teaspoons in a cup of tea every morning. I pray everyday this is our answer. Our son says he will take it the rest of his life if it works! Thank you for your dedication to the health of your fellow mankind – it truly gives us hope! ~ J.P. in Wisconsin

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This isn’t about money. It’s about who does things right and won’t cut corners and that’s why i believe your products are the finest offered anywhere. This product is Awesome. I’m 72 and have more energy than I ever had. ~ H.M. in Florida

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Last report was from the radiologist who was excited to see small changes. Couldn’t explain it. This week we saw his oncologist who was very pleased with the progress & admitted there was definitely some changes going on. With that he added, “Don’t stop what you’re doing.” This is huge!! His Dr. encouraged him!! His oncologist really doesn’t want to know about what the “new” changes are that he is doing but his Dr. saw improvement!! Thank you for all of your blood, sweat & tears.  Thank you for taking risks & stepping out and working so hard for a vision that you believe in. You are changing lives & giving hope where there has only been hopelessness. ~ J.D. in Virginia

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I just started taking turkey tail liquid over a month ago. I have stage 4 breast cancer and I went for my monthly shots and exams. My tumors are shrinking and my labs have changed for the better tremendously. My Dr. Was shocked and did not start me on another chemo pill that she intended to do that visit. God has blessed me with this. And I will continue to take it. Thank you so much. More time with my children. ~ K.I. in Kentucky

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I was diagnosed in May 2016 with a tick-borne disease. (Not Lyme, but a similar type of disease with similar symptoms.) The aftermath of these diseases can last for months if not years! As part of my treatment, I took Turkey Tail Mushrooms. Within 3 weeks of starting to take them, I was completely better. My doctor could not believe it, and said that all the blood work indicated that the disease was gone. The biggest problem with those diseases is inflammation and auto-immune response. I really believe the Turkey Tail was the factor that made the difference! Definitely take it in your coffee, it took a couple days to get used to it, but it kind of tastes like vanilla, so was easy to get used to! ~ K.F. in Tennessee

How are you doing? Are you seeing results you want to share? Are you a Doctor recommending our product? Do you want to ask our customers a question? Let us know!

Below is a short list of the extracts we make. Half Hill Farm uses a triple extraction process with distilled water, USDA certified organic and wild crafted mushrooms, and USDA certified organic USP alcohol. Our farm will soon offer more products based on what we continue to learn from published research and our customers who are seeing the best results in their health and well being!

Please consult your doctor before using any of our products for health purposes. These statements have not been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

‘You saved my daughter’s life!’ – the healing power of mushrooms

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A ‘cloud’ of Turkey Tail mushrooms (Trametes Versicolor) on logs at Half Hill Farm

A few months ago, I got a call from a customer who was looking for what I thought was an adjunct therapy for his daughter in treatment for brain cancer. His own research made him hopeful that our Turkey Tail extract could help. It wasn’t until a couple months later that I discovered on a second call the full extent of what was going on.

“I want you to know you saved my daughter’s life,” the customer told me. It’s something I hear often from customers, from ecstatic calls of people now in remission to those experiencing little to no side effects to chemo or radiation (most common) and positive changes in blood tests, but when he told me his daughter had been in hospice, I was shocked.

It is certainly not a common experience for patients to go from hospice back to treatment options, but it’s stories like this that give what we do meaning and purpose. It’s stories like this that are why we have grown into an FDA-registered manufacturing space and why we continue to expand our product offerings to include nature’s very best organically grown and wildcrafted mushroom extracts.

We are humbled every day with your phone calls and emails. While the body of research on mushrooms is growing, we know we cannot market our extracts or products as a treatment, cure or prevention of any disease, but that doesn’t stop our customers from sharing their stories. It has presented a unique challenge over the past two years as to how we present those stories to you in a responsible way.

Mushroom Dual Extracts available in 100 ml (3.38 oz) or 200 ml (6.76 oz) bottles from Half Hill Farm:

If you are one of the hundreds of customers across the country who take our extracts, we would love to hear why you take them and what you are experiencing. Your experience could help someone follow you on a path toward better health and well-being. You can leave your comment here, or leave a review on the product pages of our online store.

Nature’s remedy: organic Red Reishi mushroom dual extract

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Ganoderma Lucidum dual extract

Half Hill Farm is dedicated to sustainable farm practices that reflect our deep commitment to being good stewards of our planet and our general well being.

In keeping with our mission, our organic Red Reishi Mushroom Dual Extracts are now made with USDA certified organic pharmaceutical grade (USP) alcohol. We use a hot water and alcohol extraction process with a 10 micron filtration and bottle at our Woodbury, TN farm in premium Miron ultra-violet glass bottles. Combined with our USDA certified organic Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms and distilled water, our extract provides a full spectrum of beneficial compounds as clean as nature intended.

Red Reishi mushrooms are known in ancient medicine as the “Mushroom of Immortality” used in a wide range of folk remedies. Recent studies find extracted polysaccharides, triterpenes and other compounds from this mushroom have significant anti-tumor, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties as well as the ability to reduce inflammation and modulate immune responses.

This powerful extract has a natural bitter taste that blends well with coffee or tea. We use a 10 micron filtration that keeps smaller spore and beneficial compounds that appear as suspended filaments in the bottled extract.

Many people prescribed long-term medications or antibiotics, or with chronic illnesses, use this extract in conjunction with or as an alternative to treatments. Often taken in tea or coffee, this extract is also used as natural remedies for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypertension, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and conditions associated with: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Lyme Disease, Morgellons, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Mycoplasma, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and AIDS/HIV.

Here are links to some research on extracted compounds from Red Reishi (Ganoderma Lucidum) mushrooms:

DISCLAIMER: Please consult your physician before using any of our products for health purposes. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. 

RECIPE: Shiitake mushroom soup

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A 5 lbs. mid-Winter harvest of organic Shiitake mushrooms from Half Hill Farm.

Once your Shiitake logs from Half Hill Farm start producing mushrooms, you can dry them, store some in the fridge for a couple weeks, or eat them! That’s exactly what we did using the following recipe and an unexpected January harvest.

There’s a lot you can do with your Shiitake mushrooms and a lot of good stuff it will do for you. One recent study, for example, shows medicinal compounds in Shiitake mushrooms can eradicate HPV, a virus that causes 99% of all cervical cancer, 95% of anal cancer, 60% of oropharyngeal cancer, 65% of vaginal cancer, 50% of vulvar cancer, and 35% of penile cancer. Here’s more research on this and other mushrooms we grow, and here’s our recipe for how to make some Pho-tastic Shiitake mushroom soup.

Shiitake Mushroom Soup

  • 2 cups chopped Shiitake mushrooms
  • cubed tofu
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 4 tbsps of fresh grated ginger
  • chives
  • cilantro
  • 4 cups chopped Napa cabbage
  • rice noodles (or rice & quinoa)
  • 8 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
  • soy sauce (or Bragg’s) & lemon to flavor

You can use either rice noodles or a little rice and quinoa. Either way, cook these first and set them aside. You won’t need much – about a total of half a cup if using rice/quinoa.

Put a little olive oil in the soup pot you plan to use and cook your cubed tofu. When complete, stir-fry the chopped garlic cloves and ginger with the cooked tofu. This takes a couple minutes. Now add the broth, mushrooms and either noodles or rice/quinoa. Let this simmer for 20 minutes and then add the Napa cabbage and let simmer for five more minutes before serving.

Place a little chopped cilantro and chives in a bowl and fill the bowl with soup. Add a generous squirt of soy sauce or Bragg’s and a squeeze of a couple lemon wedges and enjoy!

Help us build an outhouse and shelter to host workshops

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You can help change the way people think about their food and health while reconnecting them to a rural farm experience.

Vince and I started our small seven acre USDA Certified Organic farm in rural Woodbury, Tennessee with a mission to become responsible stewards with our resources and to do something positive with our time and energy. We had no idea just how personal that mission would hit home and have created a unique mushroom extract we want to share as well as show people how to create it at home themselves.

A relative’s recent stage IV cancer diagnosis quickly shifted our attention to growing and producing native Turkey Tail mushrooms used as an adjunct therapy to chemo and radiation treatments. Based on the promising results of NIH research and FDA studies on dosages of polysaccharides (PSK) derived from these mushrooms and MD Anderson Cancer Center’s findings that Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) present in mushroom extracts may cure HPV, we’ve created both Shiitake, Turkey Tail and Reishi mushroom extracts we believe can help many people.

To help fulfill our farm’s mission, we need your help to open up our farm to visitors for workshops on growing these and other mushrooms and creating life-enhancing extracts, providing pick-your-own harvests of apples, blueberries and hops, and other educational opportunities.

We’ve created an online fundraising campaign to raise $4,500 that will purchase materials (locally harvested and milled cedar and a special composting toilet) needed to build an accessible outhouse and small 10 x 20 shelter to host workshops and guests.

Here is what you get for your contribution:

  • $50 – you will receive a 100 ml 1:1 Reishi Mushroom extract bottled in Miron ultra-violet glass (retail value: $40) and a postcard thank you!
  • $100 – FREE WORKSHOP (retail value: $50) plus a 100 ml 1:1 Reishi Mushroom extract bottled in Miron ultra-violet glass (retail value: $40) and a postcard thank you!
  • $250 – gets you everything above, plus placement of an inspirational quote of your choice in our outhouse for visitors to read for years to come!
  • $1,000 – gets you everything above, plus a brass plaque dedicating our pavilion in your honor! There is only one of these special gifts available.

We hope you consider giving and can share this link with others. This will help us accommodate visitors and share our passion for making food our medicine and medicine our food.