Stray voltage on the farm could be disrupting your animals’ routine and your bottom line through no fault of your own, warns Bryanna Handel.
She has first-hand experience.
Bryanna and her family farm B. Kurt Dairy in Barneveld, a first-generation dairy farm founded in 2014. It was a childhood dream she shared with her husband. Bryanna even started buying cows at age 16. Today, she and her husband raise 103 acres, 65 cows, and five children. They also host farm events, including private tours, a farmers’ market, a farm school, and Santa Claus.
But her family’s success story was at risk beginning Dec. 14, 2023. That night, the cows were acting strange. An hour of chores turned into 2.5 hours as the cows were backing in and out of stalls, kicking units off, and even kicking at Bryanna. For the first time, she and her husband had to send the kids out of the barn for their safety.
Bryanna explains that people don’t usually feel any shock from stray voltage, but animals are more susceptible. She figured there was a problem as soon as her cows started acting out of the ordinary.
When they called the utility representative, they learned a substation had been hooked up on Dec. 14. The ground currency test on Dec. 20 did pick up stray voltage. Later that week, they hooked up an equipotential plane in the heifer shed and dry cow barn. This is meant to neutralize the heifers when they come up to drink, so they don’t get shocked while drinking — like a bird perched on the powerlines. Ground rods also went in along the driveway. While the numbers on the meters improved after the installations, the cows continued to kick, swish tails, lap water, and act antsy, Bryanna recalls.
“We didn’t just wake up one morning and forget how to farm,” Bryanna says. “Everything that was happening had to come from an outside source out of our control.”
They asked to be isolated on demand, even though the stray voltage was under the utility’s threshold of what they believe impacts a cow.
Isolation
The family was given a list of tasks to be done before the farm was considered “safe” for isolation. This included changing the farm to a 4-wire system. Bryanna says this task isn’t necessarily difficult, but she struggled to find someone who wanted the liability that came with the project. She had to get a signature on a form saying the farm was safe, but couldn’t find someone to bear the responsibility. They had to hire a private engineer to sign the paperwork.
It took a little over three months from the day the family noticed the stray voltage to the day they were isolated.
The Cost
During those three months, the Handels experienced 10 aborted calves. Normally, they’d see one a year. Some cows developed unknown abscesses and other injuries that would never heal. A typical annual vet bill for the farm is roughly $2,000. They had a $2,000 vet bill in one night trying to treat these issues. They sent 10 percent of their herd away because the stress exponentially reduced milk production. Cows that had been milking 80 lbs a day were giving 20 lbs. Bryanna estimates the farm has lost tens of thousands of dollars between lower milk production, cow sickness, aborted calves, and consultation costs.
The costs were not only monetary but physical and emotional. Bryanna’s husband started developing migraines that limited his vision. They learned it was likely due to inflammation caused by stray voltage. In addition, she says the time and energy it took to solve the problem took a toll on their family.
Pictured below: Left – Bryanna Handel’s heifer during the stray voltage problem. Right – The same heifer four months after the farm was isolated.
What Next
“Even though we are isolated, we continue to have lingering problems due to the stress the cows encountered,” Bryanna says. “We are still struggling with a high somatic cell county and our breeding has taken quite a hit.”
She says the farm has been breeding cows up to five times now before they settle and become pregnant.
“We have been told that isolation is not intended to be a final solution for primary side stray voltage, and even low levels of current can cause continued problems,” she adds. “We will continue to monitor our cows.”
Moving forward, Bryanna says she’d like to see funding from the state or industry organizations for farms that have to deal with stray voltage issues. Most importantly, she wants a USDA-funded study to find out what level of electricity really affects a cow and its immune system. She says the current research is from the 1990s.
“Most farmers struggle with stray voltage for years and never get the problem completely fixed because utilities deny there is a problem,” Bryanna explains. “This is truly a silent killer of many farms.”
B. Kurt Dairy in Barneveld had plans to expand the farm with a new building and more cows. Since the stray voltage problem isn’t totally eradicated, the family scrapped their plans. Now, they’re focused on new revenue streams for the farm, such as farmstead cheese and agricultural tourism activities.
