Handy Hints

Do you have an idea you’d like to share with other dairy producers? Send it our way! We pay $50 for Handy Hints printed in the magazine.

To be considered, all submitted hints must include a clear, print quality photo (at least 240 dpi and approximately 4" by 6” in size). Please send items to Hoard’s Dairyman, Handy Hints Department, P.O. Box 801, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. You can also email your Handy Hints to editors@hoards.com. Please include your name, full mailing address and a short description of the handy hint with each submission.


Click here to order our Handy Hints Book,
a collection of Handy Hints from our readers.



Here are a few Handy Hints from fellow readers.

Handy Hint: July 2011
June 30 2011
Safe way to dispense formaldehyde We like to use formaldehyde in our footbath. We mounted the 275-gallon tank a few feet off the ground to give us enough head pressure to fill the 5-gallon container using...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint June 2011
June 2 2011
Handy Hint: June 2011 No longer need to remove skid loader attachment On our farm, we welded a few pieces of steel pipe to our feed scraper. This way we can push up feed and then later move bales without...
Hoard's Dairyman: Handy Hint May 25, 2011
May 13 2011
Handy Hint: May 25, 2011 Agitator dock saves money At the Gibson farm in Walton, Ky., the high cost of a floating dock for a manure lagoon agitator was daunting. So, a homemade version was made using 50-gallon...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint May 10, 2011
April 27 2011
Handy Hint: May 10, 2011 Calf protocol in ATV To remind calf feeders of strict protocols at Newalta Dairy in Pipestone, Minn., a square piece of dry erase board was fastened to the cage of the ATV which...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint: April 25, 2011
April 13 2011
Handy Hint: April 25, 2011 Pipeline notes status of cow Flowerbrook Farm in Hamburg, Minn., has created a way to mark cows in their tie stall barn that need extra attention or should not be milked. After...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint April 10, 2011
March 31 2011
Handy Hint: April 10, 2011 Plywood, nails, and tags track calves We found it difficult to tell employees which calves to feed, what type of milk, and how many times a day to feed each calf. Our solution...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint March 25, 2011
March 15 2011
Handy Hint: March 25, 2011 Dishwater rack screens water We always had problems with twine getting into sump pumps. We then started thinking of a way to make a sturdy filter that wouldn't easily clog but...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint: Cable prevents cows from getting caught in stalls
March 8 2011
Handy Hint: March 10, 2011 Cable prevents cows from getting caught in stalls After constructing their recent free stall barn, Jay and Amy Krahn of Brillion, Wis., advised their builder to include a cable...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint February 25, 2011
Feb. 21 2011
Handy Hint: February 25, 2011 They use silo to store wheat straw The Krahn Family of Brillion, Wis., uses wheat straw for bedding. "As our herd grew, getting enough straw blown into the old tie stall barn...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint February 10, 2011
Jan. 26 2011
Handy Hint: February 10, 2011 Screen Protects Truck Since the farm truck at the Steve and Carl Ayers Family farm in Perryville, Ohio, goes through many crossing guard gates, they added a frame around the...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint January 25, 2011
Jan. 12 2011
Handy Hint: January 25, 2011 Bracket keeps ball hitch handy Never look for the ball again. I took a piece of angle iron and bolted it to the cage of my skid loader. That way whenever I need the ball to...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint January 10, 2011
Jan. 5 2011
Handy Hint: January 10, 2011 Wire stops for calf hutches We found that filling discarded 15-gallon soap containers with a little sand makes for great stops for calf hutches. They can easily be cleaned,...
Best of 2010 Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hints
Dec. 16 2010
Handy Hint: Jan 10, 2010 Colored Tape Marks Distance During the winter months, my employees are so bundled up that they have a hard time turning around inside the skid loader to see behind them. This led...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint December 2010
Dec. 13 2010
Handy Hint: December 2010 Skid moves calves to heifer operation To help move calves across the road to their heifer operation, the Steve and Carl Ayers Family of Perryville, Ohio, designed this small calf...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint: November
Nov. 5 2010
Handy Hint: November 2010 Cow Shower Clay McQuiddy, Mountain Grove, Mo., rigged an inexpensive cow shower for his pastures. He taped a 3/4-inch plastic polypipe to a 3/16-inch cable that loops over the...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint October 25, 2010
Oct. 18 2010
Handy Hint: October 25, 2010 Neck rails that give A local builder created a neck rail that has some extra give to it. As shown in the photo, the rail is mounted above the feed aisle and equipped with a...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint October 10, 2010
Oct. 7 2010
Handy Hint: October 10, 2010 Colored buckets identify calf sex We have finally found an easy way to identify the sex of our calves when they are in hutches. Heifer calves are given a pink water bucket,...
Hoard's Dairyman Handy Hint September 25, 2010
Sept. 15 2010
Handy Hint: Sept 25, 2010 Easy access four-wheeler battery Rather than replacing the hard-to-reach battery that's under the fender on our farm four-wheeler, we made our own battery bracket by welding angle...
Handy Hint September 10 2010
Sept. 3 2010
Handy Hint: Jan 10, 2010 Recalibrated seeder saves time We decided to recalibrate our seeder so we wouldn't have to pour excess alfalfa seed into it. Additionally, we could ensure that we were getting...
Trailer built for easy fresh cow travel
Aug. 24 2010
August 25, 2010 Handy Hint Trailer built for easy fresh cow travel Fresh cows are ferried back to the milking string with this low-rider trailer. Designed by Lorin Berge, Valders, Wis., the tractor-drawn...
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