NEW ULM — A civil lawsuit brought by a Sleepy Eye dairy farmer against the Brown County REA (Rural Electrical Association) was settled out of court on Tuesday afternoon.

Lead defense attorney Scott Kelly of Mankato and plaintiff’s lead attorney Charles Bird of Rochester met with Judge Robert Docherty to settle the three-week jury trial a week early.

“It was settled to our satisfaction. The details are confidential,” said Rochester attorney Jeremy Stevens who represented Sleepy Eye dairy farmers Brian and Jill Nelson, dba Olmar Farms, that sought damages caused by stray voltage in excess of $50,000.

Docherty dismissed the eight-person jury trial at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Wisconsin dairy consultant Dr. John Ryder testified to Stevens that videos shown of the Nelson’s cows lapping water was not abnormal cow behavior.

“Cows have very poor depth perception but great peripheral vision,” Ryder testified. “They test where the water is. It can be playful or coping behavior. Cows suck a lot of water. Lapping water has no correlation to stray voltage. If a cow knows it will get shocked from it, it won’t gulp water.”

Ryder testified he reviewed Olmar Farms milk records that showed they had a solid vaccination program and that their herd expanded mostly internally.

“They kept most of their own cows, growing from within,” Ryder testified. “It’s good for herd health but you pay a price for cow performance.”

Stevens objected to videos entered into evidence depicting cows at a farm near where Ryder lived.

“I think it’s unfair to show videos of how cows behave at other farms in Wisconsin. It should never have been entered as evidence,” Stevens said.

Docherty allowed the videos, saying they depicted typical cow behavior.

Ryder testified that Wisconsin Master Electrician Larry Neubauer, cited earlier by the Nelsons as the man who finally solved their stray voltage issues two years ago, underestimated cow resistance using techniques not found in a research environment.

The Nelsons earlier alleged they suffered $297,840 in genetic sales losses alone from 2011 to 2018, due to stray voltage, according to court documents.

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).