In December 2009, Progressive Dairyman featured the Reed family in Jasper, Minnesota. The Reeds were forced out of dairying because they weren't able to overcome problems with stray voltage, despite their efforts to solve these issues with the help of Chuck Untiedt. Out of the more than 1,500 articles we published since then, the article, "The boogey man in the milking parlor" ranked as the third most read. As part of our year-end recap, we followed up with Untiedt to find out what he's learned since then about detecting stray voltage.

What we received back from him was a wealth of information on the topic, including stories of producers who have dramatically lowered their somatic cell count after working with him — and even involving utility companies — to solve stray voltage problems.

And so we've made a committment to focus on this topic in 2011. Look for an article in Issue 4 (arriving in mailboxes in early March), describing the teamwork taking place in Minnesota among Untiedt, his fellow dairy producers, utility companies and even extension professionals.

In the meantime, we want to hear from you. What are your questions about stray voltage? What have been your experiences with detecting problems and solving them? E-mail emily@progressivedairy.com or call (208) 324-7513. PD