UPDATE: No people, animals hurt in farm fire on Highway 12 east of Whitewater
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WHITEWATER—Neighbors have offered and delivered hay to Sunshine Genetics after the business lost all of its hay in a fire Monday.
“We're very grateful for that,” said Dr. Dan Hornickel, who owns the business at W7782 Highway 12, along with Drs. Chris Keim and Greg Schueller.
Sunshine Genetics provides embryo transfers and in-vitro fertilization for its clients' high-quality cows, according to its website.
The farm on Highway 12 houses about 200 cows from around the country and some other countries, Hornickel said.
No people or animals were hurt when a large metal shed that housed the company's cattle feed caught fire Monday, Hornickel said.
Hornickel did not have an estimate of the cost to replace the shed and about 300 large hay bales, cattle bedding and other feed in the building.
The cause was probably some damp hay that decomposed, producing heat that led to flames, although they had thought the hay was sufficiently dried, Hornickel said.
The fire was reported around 2:45 p.m. It burned the roof off the structure, according to a Gazette photographer at the scene.
The photographer was told a pen with six calves near the shed was moved to safety, and no machinery was stored in the building.
Numerous rural fire departments from as far away as Clinton, Edgerton and Fort Atkinson were called to assist Whitewater firefighters, and Hornickel thanked them for their efforts.
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