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DAIRY ST R
February 11, 2023
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 24, No. 24
Creating clean energy Three Iowa dairy farms partner to make renewable natural gas By Jerry Nelson
jerry.n@dairystar.com
MAURICE, Iowa – A trio of northwestern Iowa dairy operations are teaming up to install a pair of anaerobic digesters that will make methane from their cows’ manure. In a unique twist, the renewable natural gas produced by the dairies will be sold directly to the nearby town of Sioux Center. The three dairy farms include Maassen Dairy, which
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
Aaron Maassen and his family milk 2,000 cows on their farm near Maurice, Iowa. The Maassens are installing a manure digester that will provide renewable natural gas to the nearby town of Sioux Center, Iowa.
is milking about 2,000 head; is home to about 1,500 head; Brian Roorda Dairy, which and Hoogland Dairy, an op-
eration that has about 3,000 head. Construction of the two digesters will begin this spring. It is hoped they will start producing renewable natural gas by mid-2024. “One digester will be built north of our manure lagoon and will handle the manure from our dairy and the manure from Brian Roorda Dairy, which is located a mile away,” said Aaron Maassen, a fth-generation farmer who, with his family, operates Maassen Dairy. A pair of 6-inch pipes will be installed between Maassen Dairy and Brian Roorda Dairy. One pipeline will carry manure from Brian Roorda Dairy to the Maassens’ digester, while the other will carry the ap-
propriate amount of digestate back to Brian Roorda Dairy. The second manure digester will be built at Hoogland Dairy. The Hoogland Dairy digester facility will also feature a renery that will remove impurities from the raw methane. The resulting product will be no different than the natural gas that is obtained from traditional sources. “The renery is the most expensive part of producing renewable natural gas from manure, so it makes economic sense to have just one renery to serve all three farms,” Maassen said. “A Turn to DIGESTERS | Page 6
Two sisters for two brothers
Bushman families dairy in NE Iowa By Amy Kyllo
amy.k@star-pub.com
WAUKON, Iowa – When Fritz Bushman and Alyssa (Nessa) Bushman locked their siblings Zack and Rachael in the mudroom together until they decided on a rst date, they sealed their fate of two brothers marrying two sisters. Fritz and Alyssa Bushman and Zack and Rachael Bushman are organic dairy farmers in northeast Iowa. Fritz farms with his parents and another brother on their 160-cow dairy where they milk twice a day near Castalia. They also farm 700 acres
and raise 14,000 laying hens. Zack and Rachael’s organic farm is located near Waukon, about half an hour away from the family’s home farm. They have 120 cows, 400 acres and milk three times a day. The two farms collaborate together for eldwork. The Bushman brothers met the Nessa sisters through church when the Nessas’ dad came to be the pastor where the Bushmans attended. Fritz and Alyssa were the rst two to fall in love. The farm played a part in their love story. “Our dating life revolved around milking and eldwork,” Fritz said. Though unconventional, Alyssa said it did the trick. “Our rst date was plowing together,” she said. Fritz even let her drive the tractor, and Alyssa became confused in the dark and accidentally took a few tines off of a rake that was sitting at the end of the row. They were married less than a year later
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
The Bushman couples – Rachael (from leŌ), Zack, Fritz and Alyssa Bushman – stand in Zack and Rachael’s freestall barn Feb. 1 near Waukon, Iowa. The Bushman brothers married two sisters, and the couples help each other with eldwork.
in 2013. Zack took a little more prodding to get a relationship going with Rachael.
Rachael was home from he was 12, and the timing was college for Thanksgiving right. break in 2014. Zack said he had a crush on Rachael since Turn to BUSHMANS | Page 8