A jury awarded owners of a dairy farm $ 700,000 after deciding that "stray voltage" from an automated feeding system slashed the herd's milk output and increased the death rate among the Jersey cows.
Some researchers believe stray voltage, generally undetectable by humans, occurs when electricity escapes a power line or wiring system and emits a secondary current.
While none of the 450 cows at the Petersen Bros. Dairy were electrocuted, the jury ruled Monday that exposure to the elusive, low-level voltage damaged their health, killed several and cut production.
"We've proven something that a lot of people have been denying for a long time," farmer Don Petersen said.
Defense attorney Bill Staples called it "junk science." He said the claim of stray voltage in the Petersen milk barn was a "harebrained theory" not supported by electrical engineers.
The family wanted $ 2 million for losses dating back to 1988, but the jury cut the award, saying the Petersens should have acted more quickly.
Don Petersen is a partner with his brothers, William and Lynn Petersen, the third generation to raise cows at the dairy their grandfather established in 1908.
The verdict went against Agri-Systems Inc., doing business as Maddalena's Dairy Equipment, of Petaluma.
The Petersens say the problems began in 1988 when the company, then owned by Rich Maddalena, improperly installed a switch for an automated feeding system in the Petersen's milk barn.
Milk production dropped soon after the switch was installed. The Petersens hired a veterinarian, animal nutritionist and other experts to find out why.
In closing arguments last week, Staples said the switch was properly installed and the Petersens' declining milk production and herd health problems should be blamed on their own mismanagement.
There was no word on whether the verdict would be appealed.
Though the problem has been documented in some Midwestern dairies, it remains something of a mystery. It can be measured, but experts are unable to explain how and why it happens.
Attorneys for the Petersens, Patrick Emery and Barton Weitzenberg, said their research found stray voltage is not uncommon at dairies on the North Coast. Three other Sonoma County dairies with similar problems settled claims out of court.
Emery said the problem occurs as older barns add automated electrical equipment, raising ambient levels of current. Soon the cumulative effect of these secondary currents becomes harmful to cows.
"Cows are much more sensitive to low-level shock than people are," said Emery. "Cows don't wear rubber boots like milkers in the barn."
Emery and Weitzenberg expect more cases in the future.
"This is a fairly widespread phenomenon that does not receive the recognition and credibility it deserves," said Weitzenberg. "There are a lot of local dairymen who have suffered the consequence of this."
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