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7 201 2018
DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 19, No. 20
December 9, 2017
“We’ve had this huge nancial anchor dragging behind us.” – Paul Halderson
Stray voltage dominates dairyman’s career Halderson hopes his story can help other farmers By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
GALESVILLE, Wis. – Paul Halderson said dairy farming has been an enjoyable pursuit for him, but acknowledges that it could have been even better if he had not had to spend over 20 years thinking about and battling stray voltage on his Trempealeau County farm. Halderson milks 1,300 cows at Arctic-View Dairy near Galesville, Wis., farming in partnership with his oldest son, Joel, and younger son,
Ted, who is preparing to buy into the family farm. “We’ve had this huge nancial anchor dragging behind us,” Halderson said of dealing with stray voltage over a prolonged period. “It shouldn’t be there in the rst place. I like to be a private person and just go about my business, but if my story can help one other farmer, it’s worth sharing it.” Halderson’s stray voltage battle dates back to 1996 when he rst contacted Northern States Power Company (NSP) requesting his property be tested for stray voltage. Halderson was milking about 90 cows in a double-6 parlor constructed in 1969 following a barn re and had been seeing DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR noticeable issues for about Paul Halderson has spent over 20 years dealing with stray voltage on his farm, including nearly three years. ve years involved in liƟgaƟon to receive compensaƟon from Xcel Energy/NSP. Halderson milks Turn to HALDERSON | Page 5 1,300 cows in a partnership with his sons, Joel and Ted, near Galesville, Wis.
Dubuque creeping closer to D Gaul Farms Family members remain optimistic about their future By Ron Johnson
ron.j@dairystar.com
PEOSTA, Iowa – A blue water tower 1 mile away reminds members of the Gaul family that their farm’s days may be numbered. The tower, along with numerous upscale houses, is part of the leading edge of the development that’s creeping closer to the farm of Dale and Dee Gaul, and their daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Andrew Elsinger. “This farm will probably be swallowed up by housing,” Elizabeth said. Dubuque, Iowa, population 60,000, and the 10th-largest city in the Hawkeye State, will be responsible. Some of the encroachment into farmland atop the bluff above the Mississippi River began two decades ago. That’s when, Elizabeth said, a neighboring farmer died and his family sold the 320 acres for houses. “We used to rent that land for Turn to GAULS | Page 7
RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR
Members of D Gaul Farms – (from leŌ) Andrew and Elizabeth Elsinger, herdswoman Alex Waller, and Dee and Dale Gaul, remain opƟmisƟc about dairying despite an urban sprawl threatening their 350-cow farm near Peosta, Iowa.