Have you ever stopped to think about how your milk or butter actually gets to your table?
We recently caught up with the family behind Vander Woude Dairy in Merced, and the conversation quickly went beyond cows and equipment. At its heart, their story is about family, responsibility, a passion for dairy farming and a deep belief that food is security.
Like many in California agriculture, the Vander Woude family started with very little and built their dairy over time. That mindset hasn’t changed. It’s something they’re passing on to their kids—work hard, take care of what you have, and leave things better than you found them.
And while there’s a perception that dairy farmers have it easy, their reality looks a lot different. Dairy is a 24/7, 365-days-a-year commitment. There are no days off—just a constant rhythm of caring for animals, producing food, and keeping the operation running.
That same sense of responsibility is what led them to invest in a covered anaerobic lagoon digester, part of the Merced-South Cluster developed by Maas Energy Works. With support from the Dairy Digester Research and Development Program (DDRDP), they’ve turned something often seen as waste into a resource, capturing methane to create renewable energy and returning nutrients back to their fields. This project is funded in 2018 in Merced County with over $1.8 million from DDRDP through California Climate Investments (CCI) and equal matching funds from Vander Woude Dairy, cost the total project worth $3.7 million. For more insights on how Vander Woude dairy digester converts methane to renewable natural gas (RNG), check out the related blog post link on Vander Woude Dairy project.
For the Vander Woude family, it’s simple: take what you have, use it wisely, and be good stewards of it.
Farming today isn’t easy. Rising costs, unpredictable weather, and many other challenges are real, but projects like this show how innovation can work for farmers, helping them stay viable while contributing to a more sustainable future.
At the end of the day, though, what stands out most isn’t the technology. It’s the people and family behind it. A family rooted in hard work, committed to their community in Merced, and proud to play a role in feeding others every single day.