Convinced that they had nothing to hide, the Biesenthals began to keep a diary of the events in their lives. They also began pulling together documentation of their farming practices. This documentation now fills several notebooks. The Biesenthals had been among the first in their area to complete an Environmental Farm Plan. Their farming practices are environmentally friendly.
All manure is stored on a cement pad and eaves troughs direct rainwater away from their barn yard.
Dave said that he's always been a firm believer in the need to keep good records. He tracks the amount of manure spread on his land, the date the manure is spread and has regular samples analyzed of both his soil and his well water. If other Ontario farmers learn nothing else from the Biesenthals' ordeal, Dave hopes that they'll realize the need to keep accurate records. It was a growing sense of being scapegoats in the tragedy, combined with strong confidence in their farming practices, that stopped the Biesenthals from hiring a lawyer to represent their interests despite advice to the contrary from both friends and business associates. It was on August 3, more than two months after the tragedy, that the Biesenthals' world fell apart.