Burr's Berry Farm

08/10/2020

The Burr family would like to thank all of you for your kind remarks and wonderful memories shared. Burr’s Berry Farm has been their home for over 70 years, and before that, their grandparents were the first to settle the property in 1918.

In 1965, Charles and Mary Idena Burr created the roadside stand to serve their neighbors and community. After Mr. Burr passed away in 2001, Mrs. Burr vowed to continue the farm and miraculously, she did! But “Time Marches On” and in 2009 she required her children’s help. Eventually, it was evident that she would require her family to care for her in her home. So in 2013, she made the difficult decision to lease the stand and field. She remained in her home until December 2018, when she passed away at 96 years of age.

For seven years now, those operators have managed the stand. Their term of lease has finished, but they have created their own farm and new business model, which will open 1 mile west on SW 216th street. The Berry Farms will be leaving the Burr property but will continue to provide the farm experience and family activities that the community has known over the last 7 years.

So, from the Burr family, thank you for all your support over these years. We will miss you.

(pictured: Mary Idena Burr at the Strawberry Stand 2012. Courtesy of Edible South Magazine)

08/06/2020

Burrs Berry Farms has closed its location for good, but the operators for the last 7 years The Berry Farms have secured a new location really close by. Please visit their page The Berry Farms For all the up-to-date information!

08/06/2020

The Burr family wants to honor an individual who has been with our farm for over 35 years, ANTONIO DIAZ. Without Antonio all the challenges that our farm faced in years past would have been so much harder to get through. He shed tears with the death of our Dad and again when our mother passed away. He kept the Berry wagons full of flats during the strawberry season and tended the mangoes and avocados when they were in season .Antonio has worked the farm and kept things going no matter what was happening...whether it be hurricane Andrew, our father's illness or mother's illness. He worked along-side grandsons, Jeff and Chuck while they helped "Mema" keep things going after the death of our father. He helped with changes to the stand in 2009 and helped with the transition when Charles Jr. took over the farming operation. He now lives full time on the farm and is our trusted friend. He protects our legacy. We will forever be grateful for his loyalty.💖

08/05/2020

The humble beginnings of the road-side that grew to be widely known as BURRs BERRY FARM are often forgotten or never known due to the population growth in the South Dade area. The Burr family homesteaded this land just after the turn of the century. Two sons were born. The oldest Edward went into electronics. The youngest became the farmer. In those days "farm boys" could do everything and they saved money with their talents. The pictures depict the very earliest stand. It was portable. During the season it was out on the road and out of season our father would roll it down to the shop on telephone poles. When it was time to start getting ready for "berry pickin" he would roll it back in place and our mother and her friends would paint it, touch up the signs and get it all ready. This was the mid 1960's. Our parents focus was always providing the highest quality and freshest vegetables. Road-side stands were not uncommon in south Florida. Now our parents would fit best in a quality community Farmer's Market of today. Thank you for helping us share these memories for longtime friends and customers.

08/02/2020

We are still finding vintage Burrs Berry Farm pictures. Our father's Piper Cub was a popular mode of transportation and fun in the 1960's. To go along with it are two aerial photos of the property circa late 1960's. One photo is looking to the North and the other is looking to the South. If you look closely you can see a tiny building with a circle around it. That was the original road side stand before our father added the milkshake side. Also visible are the two runways: east/west and north/south. In later years the north/south was the only runway and customers occasionally would land to shop for strawberries. All kinds of airplanes even helicopters landed on Burrs Strip a charted airstrip. NOW CLOSED due to the proximity to houses on all four sides of the farm.

07/30/2020

Our Mom, Mary Idena Burr was the driving force behind the roadside stand. Burr's Berry Farm stand was her "baby". She insisted on cleanliness and produce that was perfect. She personally greeted customers for 45 years. During the strawberry season which was January 1 thru May 10. Basically and with luck and good weather from Christmas to Mothers Day. She was born April 16, 1922 and died December 20, 2018. She and our dad met when they were 13 years old and they met attending Redland School. She was not always a fan of having her picture taken but we found a few to share. Besides 9 grandchildren to feed milkshakes and ice cream cones to, she had a big hobby--it was fishing so you will see a couple of those moments too. Please feel free to share your memories of meeting the "Queen of Strawberries.

07/29/2020

We are sharing photos of our Dad, Charlie Burr, to bring the conversation back to what we want to share as a family with the facebook community and that is our family's rich farming history and our Dad's desire to grow the best strawberries possible. Most of the pictures we run across are of him in his field. Charles Raymond Burr was born June 6, 1922 and died November 14, 2001 from a complication during heart surgery. He is missed every day. We are hoping that people will join us in remembering him and celebrating his life as a South Dade farmer.

07/28/2020

Here's a blast from the past. Many of our friends and customers know that my Dad was an avid pilot. At one time we had 2 airstrips at the farm and airplanes were always a part of growing up on Burr's Berry Farm. In later years he is pictured here with his Tripacer BUT I have more aviation pictures to scan. If you have a memory or picture related to my dad and flying I invite you comment here. OR any memory. We love the things friends have added to our website and welcome more!

07/27/2020

Dear Friends of Charlie Burr and loyal Burrs Berry Farm customers, This page will be devoted to Burrs Berry Farm history and the pioneer Burr farm family. The managers on this page are the children of Charles and Idena Burr: Charles Jr. and Kathy Magee. We hope to create a loving memorial to our parents AND grandparents over the next few months. We have just begun and our page is bare right now. Please check back to see the old photos we come up with. Kindly know that BURR's BERRY FARM is closed for good.

07/12/2020