Saturday, June 4, 2022 | Country Acres • Page 1
Country Acres Saturday, June 4, 2022
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 9, Edition 40
PHOTO BY GRACE JEURISSEN
Dusty Bitzan, of Brandon, milks 60 cows in a tie stall barn he rents from a relative. Bitzan’s life in summer is a balancing act between dairying, a cow/calf operation, and dirt track racing.
A race
for time
Bitzan balances farming and summer hobby BY GRACE JEURISSEN STAFF WRITER
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Dusty Bitzan turns a corner during a race last summer at the Viking Speedway in Alexandria. He races primarily at the I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls and Viking Speedway in Alexandria.
RANDON – The roar of the crowd, the vibration of the engine, the whir of air and then, the calm of his farmland; all these are aspects of a young Douglas County farmer’s summer endeavors. Behind the wheel of a 500-horsepower engine sits Dustin Bitzan, also known as Dusty. Nearly every Friday and Saturday between May and August, he races a Wissota Modified car, labeled with the number 10X, at local tracks. “It’s a lot of fun, and makes for a nice getaway from the farm,” said Bitzan. For years now, Bitzan has been competing in local dirt track races, but he spent many summers watching family members
participate in the sport. He would attend races and wonder what it would be like to sit behind the wheel of such a powerful engine. Dirt track racing is a popular motorsport that draws crowds and drivers to local venues during the race season. Wissota division racing is an Upper Midwest sanction of dirt track racing. Each sanction has their own rules, and drivers can choose which one they fancy to race under. It’s not just the racing that makes Bitzan unique; his full-time occupation is managing his livestock and working with his family on their farm. Bitzan milks 60 cows and partners in a 250-head cow/calf beef operation with his brothers. They each have their own dairy
Bitzan page 2 PHOTO BY GRACE JEURISSEN
The cows in Bitzan’s herd get milked at 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Race days tweak the schedule slightly and evening milking starts around 4 p.m.
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Publications bli ti The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
This month in the
COUNTRY:
Watch for the next edition of Country Acres on June 18, 2022
5
A Western movie gift for Grandpa Sauk Centre
7
An explosive solution to a skunky dog Diane Leukam column
12 A natural legacy Cold Spring
21 Country cooking
15 No soil, no problem Benson
22 16 eggs Nancy Packard Leasman
20 Learning the land Sauk Centre
