Dairy farmers worry PUD has lost ag connection

As wind storms swept through the area earlier this month, power outages followed suit, in some cases, lasting more than 20 hours.

For dairy farmers along Norman Road, the concern was focused on the health of their animals as milking schedules were adjusted.

Without electricity, “everything comes to a halt,” said Cliff Henning of Cliffhaven Jersey Farm.

Relying on a well, Henning was unable to provide water for his animals and missed two milkings due to the outage.

Fortunately, none of his cows got sick; however, he said their discomfort made them agitated and the change in schedule will affect their production down the road.

Without the use of a generator, which was lost in a fire last year, Henning immediately called the Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) in Stanwood after the power went out around noon.

He called three times that Monday.

“In the past, PUD has been quick to respond, usually restoring power within a few hours,” said Henning. “This time was different.”

He said the only response was, “Crews are out working.”

With more than 1,000 animals from four dairy farms along a three-mile stretch on Norman Road, Henning said he felt PUD was not aware of the severity of the situation.

Bill Schakel of SDI Farms shared the frustration after his generator broke during the sustained outage.

Neither Henning nor Schakel lost product throughout the ordeal — the milking truck arrived in time before the cooling tanks warmed up — but, the two are worried about their standing on PUD’s priority list.

“The service used to be local,” he said. “Now, no one is accountable.”

Jolene Rod of Normanna Farm said the recent outage was the longest she and her husband Bill Rod have experienced.

“There are some frustrated farmers out here,” she said. “The focus has shifted away from the ag community.”

Rod acknowledged the pressure on PUD to restore power to major circuits, but was troubled by a lack of willingness to hear a specific request under difficult circumstances.

Once a crew was able to attend to the area, service was restored within five minutes, she said.

“It was a quick fix,” she said. “It would have been nice to be able to communicate the extent of what could have happened.”

When the power was restored shortly before 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the damage was already done for Fred Schoenbachler of Sildahl Farms.

He reported a loss of 1,200 pounds of milk due to the strain on his cows.

Schoenbachler was able to milk his cows with the use of a generator, but the stress of the situation upset the cows’ routine.

“They didn’t rest. They didn’t eat. They were uncomfortable,” he said. “You can’t

Was hi ngton version mix up their routine.” Many schedules were out of whack for what PUD spokesman Neil Neroutsos described as a challenging late-season storm.

Winds ripping through north Snohomish County came in three waves, said Neroutsos.

“We try our best to ensure reliable service,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’re partly at the mercy of Mother Nature.”

Additional crews were called into service to restore power for more than 15,000 customers, said Neroutsos.

He said PUD prioritizes restoration efforts based on public safety and the number of customers affected by a

versio n — neighborhood STANWOOD_CAMANO single cause. Any downed power lines creating unsafe conditions are attended to first. Next on the list are hospitals, schools and large business.

From there, situations are evaluated as crews work their ways into pockets of outages at the neighborhood level, said Neroutsos.

The length of the storm taxed crews working to get the power back on.

“Some circuits in the Stanwood and Arlington areas were taken out two or three times during the course of the storm,” said Neroutsos.

PUD recently updated their phone system to handle a greater volume of calls.

nei ghbor hood - 0UBC8633GEN_ CAMANO NEWS_05_11_10__ “It helps when customers call in to report an outage,” he said.

All four dairy farmers reported extended wait times when calling PUD.

“Even with the upgrade, there are some cases of high volume slowing the system down,” Neroutsos said.

He said PUD has worked with communities to help minimize outages as a result of storms.

“If the farming community is interested, our local office in Stanwood would welcome a meeting to discuss storm restoration,” he said.

Staff Reporter Adam Stewart: 629-8066 ext. 115 or astewart@scnews.com.