Opinion ID: 2038747
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Wass

Text: Wass continues to claim that the cows developed multiple mineral toxicity from the contaminated oats. In Wass' postremand deposition, he testified that he was unaware of any studies or peer-reviewed articles supporting his theory. But he also stated that it was unlikely that dairy cows had previously been fed the same combination of minerals at the same levels received by the Schafersmans' cows either in a controlled experimental setting or at another dairy operation. He also suggested that the clinical situation presented at the Schafersmans' operation was similar to a scientific experiment, because the dry herd, which did not receive the contaminated oats, acted like a control group. In addition, in his postremand deposition, Wass seems to have made a subtle change to his multiple mineral toxicity theory. In Schafersman I, we noted that Wass had testified that no single mineral was present in the contaminated oats at a level scientifically accepted to be toxic, although several minerals were present at above-normal levels. We further explained that by using the term multiple mineral toxicity, Wass had meant that the combined effect of those minerals that were present in the contaminated oats at above-normal levels had made the cows ill. See Schafersman I. Wass now claims that some minerals were present in the contaminated oats at levels high enough that they alone could have caused the symptoms. Specifically, he claims that the contaminated oats contained enough copper to cause some symptoms that occurred in the Schafersmans' herd, including jaundice and death. At the time of the original trial, the National Research Council had set the maximum tolerable level of copper for dairy cows at 100 parts per million (ppm). But Wass testified that a colleague at Iowa State University told him about a case where dairy cows had developed copper toxicity after receiving copper at a level of 40 ppm. Here, testing showed that copper was present at 58 ppm in the contaminated oats. Wass further testified that it is well accepted that dairy cows are more susceptible to copper toxicity if the ratio of copper to molybdenum in their diet is greater than 10:1. The ratio in the contaminated oats was 22:1. Wass conceded, however, that the contaminated oats were not the only ingredient in the cows' diet. When the oats were delivered, they were mixed with corn and a mineral premix for dairy cows. In addition, the cows were also fed alfalfa and supplied with mineral blocks that they could lick. As we noted in Schafersman I, although Wass had the contaminated oats tested to determine their mineral makeup, he did not attempt to estimate the mineral makeup of the cows' complete diet. In addition to the changes Wass made in his multiple mineral toxicity theory, he also took issue with our holding in Schafersman I that his clinical analysis had been inadequate because he had not ruled out other potential causes for the symptoms exhibited by the Schafersmans' cows. Wass conceded that there were other possible causes for the cows' symptoms and that he had not conducted testing to rule out those other causes. He testified, however, that some causes could be dismissed without testing because they rarely, if ever, occur in Nebraska. In addition, he repeatedly suggested that the clinical picture, i.e., the almost immediate onset of symptoms after the cows had eaten the contaminated oats and the lack of symptoms in the cows that did not eat the contaminated oats, made extensive testing for other causes unnecessary.