Opinion ID: 2133433
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: wass' testimony

Text: Wass is a professor at Iowa State University in the department of diagnostic and production animal medicine and was head of that department when it was known as the department of clinical sciences. Wass is board certified in veterinary internal medicine, and he specializes in diseases of metabolism, nutrition, and toxicology. Wass obtained both a bachelor of science degree in agriculture and a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of Minnesota, and later obtained a doctorate degree in veterinary medicine with a minor in pathology from the same university. Wass testified that in preparing his opinion, he physically went to the Schafersman farm, but only examined the Schafersmans' records relating to the cows. Wass admitted that he did not perform a clinical examination of any of the cows and did not treat the cows. Wass did not perform any tests on the cows to rule out other causes of the jaundice that had been observed in the cows by the Schafersmans' veterinarian, nor did he test for copper toxicity, which Wass opined was a contributing factor to the illness afflicting the cows. Wass performed no tests to rule out other potential causes for the alleged drop in milk production. Wass acknowledged that he should have tested for copper toxicity and performed other tests on the cows. Wass further testified that while he tested a sample of the mixture delivered to the Schafersmans by Agland, he did not test the composition of the total ration actually fed to the cows after it was combined by the Schafersmans with corn and other nutrients. Nonetheless, Wass testified that it was his opinion that the problems with the cows were caused by the Envirolean because the cows that had eaten the Envirolean-contaminated mix became sick. The basis for Wass' opinion was his theory that the cows were afflicted with multiple mineral toxicity, which Wass claimed could result when a number of potentially toxic minerals were simultaneously fed to cows in otherwise-tolerable quantities. Wass admitted that no minerals were present in the feed that were, singly, above scientifically accepted toxic or even tolerable levels. With respect to the theory of multiple mineral toxicity, Wass testified that he had neither studied multiple mineral toxicity nor authored any publications concerning multiple mineral toxicity. Wass testified that he was aware of no controlled studies that related to multiple mineral toxicity, although he claimed that people in the field have observed it. Wass conceded that the theory he proposed set forth no standard for determining what levels of any given minerals could result in a toxic effect. In his deposition, which was admitted at the hearing on Agland's motion in limine, Wass stated that he had seen a similar prior case, but he did not testify regarding the mineral levels present in that instance, nor did he discuss any testing that might have been performed in that instance. Wass conceded, in his deposition, that he had not conducted any tests that were intended to bear out his theory of multiple mineral toxicity. In addition, Agland's expert witness, Dr. David Reed, a veterinarian who specializes in dairy cows and nutritional consulting for dairy producers, reviewed Wass' deposition testimony and the attached exhibits. Reed testified that the scientific literature did not contain a theory of multiple mineral toxicity and that in his opinion, that theory did not apply to the instant case.