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.
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a collection of Handy Hints from our readers.
Feb. 15 2023
It was confusing figuring out which valves needed to be turned if we wanted to shut off the water to a certain part of our dairy barn. We took blank ear tags and wrote on them which part of the barn t
Jan. 25 2023
When putting up alfalfa and stacking it into our hay shed, I always like to know which cut the bales are from. I spray paint the whole face where the first cut ends and now I know when to change the r
Jan. 10 2023
In the cold weather, I wanted to plug in my pickup truck’s block heater, but I didn’t want a plug-in hanging out of the hood, so I made a bracket to screw the plug-in onto the front bumper....
Dec. 10 2022
I took a used container that originally held ice melting salt and now use it in our shop to put down Floor-Dry. The slotted top works very well for spreading this product. Shaun Coyne, New York
Nov. 10 2022
To find small leaks in tires, make a mixture of water and liquid soap. Put the mixture in a squirt bottle and spray it all over the tire. The air leaking out will create bubbles with the soapy mixture
Oct. 10 2022
I always had a mess with my drills lying around, so I made this metal holder out of a 1/8 inch plate. It is strong, and now everything is cleaned up. Ken Wipf, South Dakota
Sept. 14 2022
This classic hint is super easy and inexpensive. Cut a gallon jug to make a scoop that can be used for grain, lime, or anything else.Melanie Sinan, Pennslyvania
Sept. 1 2022
When baling a heavy windrow, sometimes hay would get caught on the draw pin, which eventually created a slug that the baler didn’t appreciate. To keep hay from getting caught on the pin, we cut down
Aug. 10 2022
The stickers our milk haulers use to label their sample bottles were getting wet just sitting in our milk house. I used a recycled sour cream container and slit a hole in the side so that the paper ca
July 8 2022
I installed a job site 12 volt radio inside our skid steer. This is much cheaper than an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) radio and only took 20 minutes to hook up. I wired it into the fuse panel
June 8 2022
If you have any barn doors that don’t stay closed, here is one solution. I took two eye bolts and attached one to the door and one to the trim of the door
May 10 2022
After birth, our calves are moved to individual pens with heat lamps. With four pens next to each other, it was a struggle to determine which cord went with the heat lamp for each pen
April 18 2022
I didn’t have an adequate place to keep my syringes, so I took some 1 3/4-inch pipes and fastened them to the wall by the sink. As soon as I’m done using a syringe, I clean it and hang it up
March 30 2022
We use colored clothespins to mark the cows that need attention when they are in the headlocks. This makes it quick and easy to spot the cows we need from the front and the back
March 1 2022
When training calves to drink at our automatic feeders, it is difficult to keep them inside the stall. We took an iron pipe and welded two rods on both sides so it doesn’t slip out
Feb. 9 2022
I had a problem with losing the plug for my bulk tank manhole where I connect the pipeline to the tank. I attached a chain to the plug, so now it stays there and is always in reach
Jan. 14 2022
To avoid opening the shop door when I needed air, wasting electricity and letting out heat, I simply hung a hose reel outside the shop and hooked it up to the air supply
Jan. 1 2022
When parking my tractor and feed wagon in the shed, I have poor visibility and it’s hard to know when I have driven far enough ahead. So, I came up with this simple solution
Dec. 14 2021
I slipped a milker inflation into the broken off end of my metal shovel and secured it in place with duct tape. Now when I use the shovel, my hand pushes on a soft inflation instead of sharp metal
Nov. 19 2021
In cold weather, we had different operators driving off with the skid steer still plugged in and damaging the cord. That problem stopped after we started putting the cord through the hand rails
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