Opinion ID: 692298
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Alvin and Rose Timmerman

Text: 27 The Timmermans acquired their first Harvestore silo in 1976 in order to store haylage. At that time, the Timmermans were seeking to feed their herd a total haylage ration, which their Harvestore dealer had indicated would all but eliminate the need for protein supplements. Yet milk production did not increase once the Timmermans began to feed the haylage ration, and the health of their herd generally declined. The Timmermans complained to their dealer, who tested samples of the Timmerman's haylage and eventually told them that the herd needed time to adjust to the new feed. The Timmermans also noticed that a white mold had developed in the ensiled haylage, but their dealer assured them that this mold grew in the absence of oxygen and was beneficial to the cows. The Timmermans' complaints, however, prompted Harvestore representatives to check the seals on the haylage unit and to reseal the entire structure in 1978, although they told Alvin Timmerman that the old seals had not been leaking. 28 Because milk production did not increase in response to a total haylage ration, the dealer told the Timmermans they could increase production and lower their feed costs by feeding a total mixed ration that included haylage and high-moisture corn. This led the Timmermans to purchase a second Harvestore silo in 1980 to store the corn. Yet when the Timmermans filled the corn unit in the fall of 1980 and began feeding a total mixed ration, their herd's milk production did not increase, and by 1981, the Timmermans knew that their production levels would fall far short of those projected by the Harvestore dealer. By 1983, moreover, the Timmermans realized that they needed to add protein supplements on a consistent basis in order to maintain production levels. By that point, then, the Timmermans knew that the feed savings their dealer had projected would not materialize. 14 Yet despite these realizations, the Timmermans purport to have been unaware of the precise cause of their production problems. They maintain that they never blamed these problems on the Harvestore silos. 29 During the sixteen-year period between 1976 and 1991, the Timmermans consulted a number of veterinarians, nutritionists, and feed labs in an attempt to increase their herd's production. One veterinarian and one nutritionist separately suggested that dry hay be added to the ration, and the Timmermans did so with little effect between 1983 and 1986. Moreover, the Timmermans had samples of their feed tested every four to six months throughout this period. None of their consultants ever linked the Timmermans' production or health problems to the Harvestore feed. The Timmermans apparently did not learn that the silos were the source of their problems until the December 1991 meeting with their present lawyers. 30 On this record, the district court found that the Timmermans' cause of action accrued by 1983 at the latest. It was in that year, the district court explained, that the Timmermans ceased searching for the cause of their problems and simply accepted that protein supplements were required to maintain necessary production levels. 31 In our view, the Timmermans are in a position similar to that of the Horns. Shortly after they began feeding a total mixed ration that utilized feed from both silos, the Timmermans realized that the necessary and projected production levels could not be met without the addition of protein supplements. They thus knew at least by 1983 that the feed savings their dealer had projected would not occur. Yet even when armed with this information, the Timmermans never complained to their Harvestore dealer. 15 In that sense, they responded like the Horns and unlike the Dues once they realized that something was wrong. We said in discussing the Horns' appeal that an ordinarily diligent farmer should at least have raised these issues with the dealer once he knew that the dealer's representations were not coming true. The Timmermans failed to do that, and in contrast to the Dues then, there is no possibility that the dealer lulled them into blaming some factor other than the Harvestore silos. Although the evidence indicates that the Timmermans utilized a number of nutritionists and feed consultants over the years, there is no evidence that they ever asked these consultants whether the Harvestore silos may be affecting their feed. We think that by 1983, an ordinarily diligent farmer would have been suspicious about the silos and would have asked some pointed questions either of their Harvestore dealer or of their paid consultants. See Johnston v. Agristor Credit Corp., No. 84-4421-S, 1987 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 12871,  15-16 (D.Kan. Nov. 23, 1987) (granting summary judgment on basis of a statute of limitations defense when, over six-year period, the plaintiffs failed to include the Harvestore equipment as a possible source of their problems). The Timmermans' failure to do so bars their claim. See Miles, 992 F.2d at 816-17. 16