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.

Identification locked in place
Sept. 1 2017
Some days, we have multiple fresh cows. Since we want all the calves to receive colostrum from their own dam, we needed an easy way for the calf feeder to know which milk came from what cow
Bottles ready for feeding
Aug. 25 2017
In the area of our barn where we keep bull calves, the bottles hang on the wall in a milk crate. With this setup, the nipples often fall off or get thrown in the wash basin. My simple, inexpensi
No birds nest here
Aug. 10 2017
We’ve had issues with birds building nests above our door opener in our barn. We filled it with spray foam insulation, and now we don’t have any more bird nest issues. Scott Drooger
Drain tile doubles as a pail holder
July 15 2017
Calves are fed pasteurized milk and starter in pails at Vir-Clar Farm in Fond du Lac, Wis. The Boyke family keeps their calf pails securely in place by using field drain tile. Each piece of drai
A Skid Steer Bucket Addition
June 26 2017
To make feeding grain easier, we put a 3-inch auger into the skid loader bucket with a hydraulic motor. Now we can drive into a pile of corn, fill up the bucket, and drive along by the bun
Tractor tint and fan
June 15 2017
On the hottest days of the summer, it can get warm inside the cab even with the air conditioner running. In order to alleviate this situation, I added some window tint and an extra fan
Water where you want it
May 25 2017
To provide water access in our pasture, we mounted an old cast iron bathtub on skids fitted with a MiraFount valve. Water is supplied by a 1-inch buried line, and the tub is moved through the pasture
Low-Cost Tractor Mirrors
May 10 2017
We were shopping around for aftermarket tractor mirrors but were not impressed by the price or small size. Instead, we picked up two combine mirrors for $10 at a salvage yard
Helpful Hose Storage
April 17 2017
There are certain times of year when we use a lot of hoses, and we used to struggle with how to store them when not in use
Step on over to the other side
April 10 2017
At Dan and Wendy Flood’s dairy farm in Oakfield, Wis., screws have been inserted into some of the wooden fence posts around their pastures. When it is time for the cows to come in for milking
Milk on wheels
March 25 2017
We have to carry our milk bottles to the calf barn and, unfortunately, sometimes one or two bottles would get spilled. We decided to build a cart to transport the bottles
Created tractor mud flaps
March 10 2017
I was working on a school project of restoring a John Deere 4250 tractor. While operating other tractors, I would get tired of cleaning windshields off from mud flying off of the front tir
A tightly secured load
Feb. 25 2017
On our dairy we use 50-pound bag shavings, which are stacked on a pallet for delivery. It’s a four-hour drive by semitruck to our location. When tying them down, bags used to rip from the tie-
Carry Calves to Their New Home
Feb. 10 2017
I made this calf box to move calves from the hutches over to the group pen. This box sits on the front of our skid loader using the pallet fork. It makes moving calves more fun than leading them
Brush in a drill cleans waterers
Jan. 25 2017
I use a bowl brush in my 1/2-inch cordless drill to clean the waterers on our farm. This picture is one that I just cleaned. It came out pretty clean and saves a lot of scrubbing
Calf feeding communication
Jan. 10 2017
At Vir-Clar Farm in Fond du Lac, Wis., co-owner and calf manager Katie Grinstead uses a system of colored duct tape to communicate with calf feeders. Different colored duct tape attached t
Turntable Makes Round Bale Feeding Much Easier
Dec. 16 2016
To make feeding wrapped round bales easier in the barn we made a round bale turntable. On a four-wheeled wagon, we mounted an old wheel hub with the rim bolted on and then welded a metal plate t
Keep calves cozy with this hutch door
Nov. 8 2016
All I needed to make this homemade calf hutch door to protect calves during winter storms was a pallet, a tarp, staples, nails, baler twine, and slat wood. First, I took a tarp and folded it so
Clean Calf Hutches All Year Round
Oct. 25 2016
We built this 12- by 12-foot-square frame building to wash our calf hutches. It is 8 feet tall, has a floor grate that is 16 inches off the ground, and old windbreaker panels on three side
Make marks that last
Oct. 10 2016
We transport milk over to our calf area using 5-gallon buckets with lids. I was annoyed by how quickly our already hard-to-see premarked milk amount lines (using “longer lasting” ear tag pen
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