Pennsylvania producer still dealing with effects of cattle electrocution

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EDINBURG, Pa. — A Pulaski Township beef producer is still going round and round with Penn Power after a guide wire reportedly came down and a total of 10 cattle were electrocuted July 9 on Garner Road in Edinburg, Pa..

Laird Whiting and his wife Joyce are still in dismay at what happened at their farm.

What happened?

The evening of July 9, a total of 8 Beefmaster cows and two calves were reportedly electrocuted when the guide wire came down. The cattle were killed in the pasture after the electric apparently spread through the ground and cattle. Whiting said how the guide wire fell is still a mystery.

Not an easy situation

Whiting was not done with calving for the year, so the death of the cattle has presented some obstacles on the farm. He’s had to bottle feed calves whose mothers died.

What bothers Whiting the most is how Penn Power is dealing with the situation. He said the company has told him that he does not owe any money to Penn Power for the power outage, but he won’t be reimbursed for the cattle.

He is just glad it wasn’t his grandchildren electrocuted.

“What bothers me more than the financial hit is that I have 13 grandchildren and they could have easily rode a horse right up against it,” Whiting said. “I’m just happy this wasn’t one of them.”

Penn Power comments.

The Farm and Dairy contacted Penn Power for comments. A spokesperson said the matter has not been resolved and they don’t expect a final outcome until sometime in September.

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