Testimony continues in trial over health of cattle herd

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An area man and his attorney attempted to build their case as testimony continued Wednesday in a jury trial to settle a dispute involving a Mount Vernon cattle operation.

Travis Hostler, part-owner of the Mount Vernon-based Dry Run Cattle Co., and his attorney Carl J. Koch, of Mitchell, are seeking more than $287,000 in damages for losses they say were the result of a shipment of cattle from North Dakota that included animals with an immune system infection that led to pneumonia.

Dry Run Cattle Co. is claiming Dan Knoll, of Grafton City, Ill., an agent of KLC LLC, and the Minnesota-based company Central Livestock Association Inc., breached the terms of an agreement to raise and sell 1,105 head of drug-free cattle by supplying cattle that were sick. The lawsuit, filed in 2008, went to trial at the Davison County Courthouse Tuesday morning.

Jurors heard testimony from the plaintiff’s witnesses all day Wednesday, including lengthy testimony from Ray Cooper, an Iowa resident and investor in Dry Run Cattle.

The trial is scheduled to reconvene this morning, and Koch and Dry Run Cattle have yet to rest their case.

The trial is scheduled to conclude Friday.

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