The electrical hazard of the future
This paper calls attention to a continuing and growing problem concerning an ever-present electrical hazard that is being swept under the rug. Several miscalculations and lack of understanding of grounding have combined over the past 80 years to set into motion the electrocution of dairy cows, pigs and humans residing in North America from the electrical distribution system. The urge to reduce costs by the utility companies has resulted in the lack of maintenance of the electrical distribution system. This combined with an expected increase in peak demand of 16 percent over the next decade is expected to result in an increase in stray current flowing uncontrolled over the earth shocking and killing not only dairy cows and pigs, but humans too.
Equipotential Planes, a Figment of the Imagination
This paper challenges conventional established practice and presently accepted standards concerning equipotential planes. The concepts, ideas and recommendations contained within this paper are the opinions of the author. It is the opinion of the author that it is unfortunate that in the United States the vast majority of utilities use the hazardous multigrounded neutral electrical distribution system. This type of electrical distribution system uses the earth for a partial electrical neutral return path for the dangerous high voltage distribution current. The correct term for this uncontrolled current is "stray current" as opposed to the incorrect term, stray voltage, commonly used. Robert Gustafson was editor of Chapter 4, Mitigation, in the document titled, "USDA agriculture handbook no. 696, effects of electrical voltage/current on farm animals" known as the Agriculture Red Book, where he presents "various solutions to stray or neutral-to-earth voltage problems". One of his major suggestions is the installation of an equipotential plane. This paper relates testing that suggests that such a solution is harmful not only to animals such as cows and pigs, but also to humans. With the flow of stray neutral distribution current over and through the earth, one must consider the effects that this dangerous stray neutral distribution current have on an equipotential plane. According to the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) Standard 70, the National Electrical Code (NEC) Articles 547 and 680, equipotential planes "... prevent a difference in voltage from developing within the plane." This paper discusses the contradictions, inconsistencies and incompatibilities of equipotential planes, Ohms law and the NEC. For years it has been opined that with detailed understanding, and the correct application of Ohms law, one would come to the conclusion that the concept of equipotential planes was not only potentially dangerous, but also blatantly false. In December 2004, tests were conducted that finally confirmed that the concept of equipotential planes is a figment of the imagination
Stroking different body regions of dairy cows: effects on avoidance and approach behavior toward humans.
Understanding perception of dairy cows to common human contact such as stroking is important for improving the human-animal relationship, animal welfare, and production. We hypothesized that repeated stroking of body regions licked most during social grooming, especially the ventral neck, would reduce cows' avoidance of and increase their approach to humans. Sixty tethered dairy cows were randomly allocated to 4 treatment groups that received 5 min of daily human contact 5 d/wk during 3 consecutive weeks: 3 groups were stroked on different body regions. The first group was stroked on the ventral part of the neck (neck); the second group on the withers (both licked often in social grooming); the third group on the lateral side of the chest (chest, licked rarely); and the last group (control) was exposed to simple human presence. The reactions to the person who had provided the treatment were measured using 2 tests in the home tie-stall assessing avoidance from an approaching person who tried to touch the head (approaching person test) and avoidance/approach reactions to a stationary person (stationary person test). Approach behavior was recorded in a novel environment using a standard arena test. In the home tie-stall, cows stroked on the neck showed less avoidance (median avoidance score: 3.33) in the approaching person test compared with cows stroked on the chest and the controls (both: 4.00). That is, at least 75% of the animals stroked on the neck tolerated the touching of their heads (75th percentile <or= 3.75), whereas at least 50% of the cows in the other treatment groups did not accept it. The stationary person test did not reveal any differences between the treatment groups. In the arena test, the 3 stroked groups showed more approach behavior (median latencies to contact: from 145 to 240 s) compared with simple human presence (300 s), but stroking treatments did not differ from each other. Stroking, particularly the neck, reduced avoidance of and increased approach reactions to humans in both the home tie-stall and the arena. Increasing acceptance of being touched after being stroked on the neck suggests that this procedure should be adopted to improve routine handling of dairy cattle.