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DAIRY ST R
Volume 22, No. 13
No regrets living his dream
Derecho storm leaves destruction on Iowa dairies
Danz reaches one-year milestone
By Sherry Newell
By Danielle Nauman
Contributing Writer
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – A derecho, a long-lived straight-lined wind storm that is often referred to as an inland hurricane, caused $14 million destruction in Iowa crops that headlined the news surrounding the unusual storm that developed in Iowa and crossed the Midwest Aug. 10. But dairy farm buildings and animals were also caught in the path of the winds the National Weather Service estimated as high as 130 mph. A half-dozen or more dairy farms near Cedar Rapids, one of the hardest-hit cities, suffered damage that in some cases meant moving cows to other farms. Dairies across the state were without power, some for a few days and others more than a week. Cell phone service and broadband was down, causing difculty reaching family, employees, electricians and other critical help. “I bet it blew for 50 minutes or at over 80 mph with gusts well over 100 mph,” said Bob Kettelkamp. Kettelkamp lost all or parts of three barns, three silos and four grain bins on the farm he operates with his brother, Bill, near Marion, just east of Cedar Rapids. A manure spreader was tossed upside down and a Quonset hut was moved off its foundation. A newer freestall barn survived but with one end pushed 20 feet outward and the curtain sides missing. “Our roof steel is all over the county,” Kettelkamp said. The brothers lost one cow and were able to keep milking in their parlor using a generator until power was restored after eight days. Two dairy farms on the opposite side of Cedar Rapids from the Kettelkamp farm were not as fortunate. Ron Franck, of Newhall, has sent his milking cows to three other eastern Iowa dairies while he picks up the pieces of his 220-cow freestall barn and parlor. A heifer barn, unused silo and trees were also taken out by the storm. “Basically, it’s the whole thing,” said Franck, who did not lose any cattle immediately but shipped 15 head due to being, what he called, banged up from debris. Franck said his heifers likely ran out of the building to survive, because they continued walking out of cornelds into the farmyard most of Monday. The storm hit the Newhall area at about 12:30 p.m. Brian Schanbacher, a mile away from
Turn to DERECHO | Page 10
August 22, 2020
“All dairy, all the time”™
danielle.n@dairystar.com
LIVINGSTON, Wis. – No regrets is how Nathan Danz describes the rst year of starting his Livingston dairy farm from scratch, a dream that several people told him was crazy to chase. Danz rst hung the milking units on his 50 cows June 27, 2019, and has not looked back. Now he is milking 60 cows in the Grant County dairy barn he rents from his grandfather. “I wouldn’t want to change a thing,” Danz said. “I’m living my passion. I love the cows and taking care of them. Milking is my favorite time of the day.” While he has enjoyed his rst year, it has not been without its own tribulations. Before purchasing a local herd of cows, Danz remodeled the interior of
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Nathan Danz milks 60 cows near Livingston, Wisconsin. Danz began his dairy industry career with a purchased herd of 50 cows in June 2019. the tiestall barn that had sat empty for 16 years. He readied the milking equipment and replaced what was no longer useful. “For the rst couple of weeks, I really struggled with both the compressor and the
vacuum pump,” Danz said. “I had to eventually completely replace the compressor, but with the vacuum pump, it was just a Turn to DANZ | Page 5
Customized calf care
Evers family builds barn with individual, group pens By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
KRISTA KUZMA/ DAIRY STAR
Sisters – (from leŌ) Shaylah Schouweiler, Jessica Evers and Allie Evers – stand in the calf barn on their family’s dairy near Kellogg, Minnesota. The family moved calves into the new facility February 2019.
KELLOGG, Minn. – After the Evers family toured other calf facilities for ideas while in the planning stage for their upgrade, they realized none of the barns were exact matches of what they wanted to build. So, they decided to design their own. Since February 2019, the Evers family has been using a custom-built barn for calves up to 10 weeks for their dairy, which milks 2,900 cows on two farmsites near Kellogg. The 70-by350 facility can hold up to 430 calves when full. At this time, the barn has 390 calves. Sisters Shaylah Schouweiler and Jessica Evers, who are two of Turn to EVERSES | Page 6