HONESTY, INTEGRITY, HARD WORK AND FAITH AT THE CENTER

The Maassen family in 2017. Standing in front; Stefan, Miranda holding Malia, Stacy, Lee, Emily, Marissa, Aaron, Ashley, and Adam holding Adler. In the back; Jacob, McKenna, Alekye (back), Addaley, Aric, Peyton, Ayden, Seth and Mariah. Photo courtesy Lana Van Es, LG Imagery.

There are no side jobs at the Maassen farm near Maurice. The family is laser-focused on the hard work of running a dairy: Milking around the clock; growing most of their own feed; raising replacement heifers and Holstein breeding bulls; and each person managing a portion of the operation.

The training began early. “As kids, we grew up feeding calves in hutches,” said Adam, part of the fifth generation of the Maassen family to farm in Sioux County. “It was a 7-day-a-week job we started when we were 6 or 7 years old.”

Adam and his brothers, Aaron and Stefan, farm with their father, Lee, who said, “I got my hardwork attitude from my dad. He was out here until his last days when he was 93 years old.”

Between the Great Depression, World War II, and a severe bout of sciatica, “Dad learned to not complain and instead to count your blessings day by day,” he said about his father, John, who died in 2014.

Lee’s great grandfather, Jan, came from the Netherlands in 1904, settling about one mile from the current operation. Teunis Maassen represented the family’s second generation before John started the current farm in 1946 after returning from service in World War II. Lee said the farm was more diversified when he was growing up. Back then, they only had about 15 dairy cows. But they also had a 100-sow farrow-to-finish hog set-up; 300 chickens; and 100 head of beef cattle.

In 1974, Lee and his older brother Terry went into partnership with their dad. In 1980, Terry left the farm to become a pastor and younger brother Marvin came into the operation. He farmed until 2007 when Lee’s sons bought him out.

“Each time we looked at building, expanding or making changes to the farm, we spent a lot of time researching new ideas and tried to put the best of those new practices to work here,” said Lee.

Managing 25 employees takes a good portion of time for each of them. “We’re now all in management positions. We work more with the people, not the cows,” said Adam, who oversees the feedyard, feed center management and heifer replacements. Lee feeds the dairy animals in the morning and does overall management in concert with his sons. His wife Emily does the bookkeeping, mowing and cleaning at the dairy. Aaron is the herdsman and oversees crop production. Stefan works with the younger calves plus is in charge of maintenance and repair. All of their duties frequently overlap with the herdsman, plus they all spend time in the field in the spring and fall.

“Our employees are a very vital part of our success as a dairy farm,” said Lee. About 80 percent of their workforce is Hispanic and most of their milking technicians are women. “We’ve found that moms are stable, connected to the communities and are just good animal caretakers.”

In addition to the physical and technological advancements on the farm, the Maassens are actively engaged in promotion and community relations, which starts with their neighbors. Adam said, “Good neighbor relations is vital. I like the working relationship we’ve established with our neighbors. It’s nice that we can swap nutrients, whether that’s manure as a fertilizer or stalks as feed.”

The Maassens recognize a commitment to stewardship which goes beyond their farm. To build confidence in where milk comes from and how it is produced, they regularly host groups of students, lawmakers and others at the dairy. “If we don’t tell the true story of dairy farming, there are a lot of false ones out there people will listen to,” Aaron said.

Family fun centers around the kids’ sports and school activities, or riding 4-wheelers on the farm. “In the summer, all the cousins play together in the farm place grove, making forts and rooms. It’s a multi-family collaboration,” said Aaron. Because work on a dairy farm is 365/24/7, they can’t all take a family vacation together. But, Lee said, “We have the advantage of seeing each other every day, whereas some families only see each other on vacation.”

The entire family also worships together at Maurice Reformed Church, where Lee is an elder, Adam is a deacon, Aaron previously was a deacon, and Stefan and Miranda were youth leaders. The town of Maurice only has about 250 residents, but the church has 800 members and seven staff. It draws from many area communities because of the strength of its youth programs, music, and small group ministries for college students and adults.

In family life and on the farm, Stefan said they value honesty, integrity and hard work. Adam added generosity, patience and selflessness to the list of values. And, Aaron said, “Faith is at the center.” Lee agreed, pointing to the farm’s mission statement: “To be good caretakers of the people, land and animals that God has blessed us with.”