Alvord, Iowa — A while back we told you about an Alvord area farmer whose cattle got sick and many of them died from what turned out to be lead poisoning.
Lyon County Sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep says the dead cattle were tested at a lab, and the result was profound lead poisoning. He says they found that a tractor battery from the tractor used to scoop up the feed components into the feed mixer had been ground up with the cattle feed on October 8th, 2016 and was fed to the cattle on October 9.
At that time, the cattle farmer, Joel Moser of rural Alvord wondered in media accounts if someone had trespassed on his property and threw the battery in with the feed.
According to a lawsuit filed in Lyon County District Court, now Moser is accusing his neighbor, Tristan Kuenzi of mixing the battery in with the feed, either negligently or on purpose, saying it took place while Moser was in Florida and Kuenzi was taking care of his cattle.
The court documents say that the tractor that was used to scoop up the components of the feed was missing its grill. They say somehow the battery from that tractor ended up in the feed. Moser’s lawsuit says that after Kuenzi discovered the situation, he contacted Moser, who contacted a veterinarian who said all the feed should immediately be removed from the feed bunks. According to Moser’s suit, Kuenzi claimed that although only a few minutes had passed since he fed the cattle, almost all the feed had already been consumed.
His lawsuit says the Mosers returned home the next day and claims that Moser noticed pieces of plastic and parts from the battery still in the feed bunks. It also says that Kuenzi did not help the Mosers decontaminate the area and in fact it alleges that he has not communicated with the Mosers since the loss.
An answer and counterclaim filed by Kuenzi denies any intentional or negligent wrongdoing, saying it was due to either an act of God, the negligence of the Mosers, a condition not under control of Kuenzi, or the conduct of the Mosers or others, which was unforeseeable to Kuenzi. It alleges that the Mosers knew of the danger posed by the tractor missing its grill.
The counterclaim alleges the Mosers committed slander. It includes the content of a text conversation between Moser and Kuenzi and says those statements prove Moser knew that the incident was purely unintentional and accidental. The counterclaim alleges that the Mosers concocted the story after they found out that their insurance would not cover the loss.
Both parties have requested a jury trial.
