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.

Racks help bundle tires
March 7 2016
Handy Hint: March 10, 2016 Racks help bundle tires Tires that cover bunker silos at Hillcrest Dairy are more organized after creating a number of iron "tire racks." As tires come off the bunker to expose...
PVC pipes track calf feeding
Feb. 17 2016
Handy Hint: February 25, 2016 PVC pipes track calf feeding Keeping track of which calves get fed milk twice per day, once or not at all is handled rather easily for the calf feeders at Paint Creek Heifers...
Get little helpers ready for barn chores
Feb. 2 2016
Handy Hint: February 10, 2016 Get little helpers ready for barn chores For most farm moms, the worst part of taking little ones out to the barn is getting them ready. It can take half as long as chores...
A milk house floor saver
Jan. 14 2016
Handy Hint: January 25, 2016 A milk house floor saver The purpose of this recessed stainless steel drain pan is to save the concrete from the detergent and acid that run under the bulk tank washer. This...
Hinged gate closes man pass
Jan. 5 2016
Handy Hint: January 10, 2016 Hinged gate closes man pass From a safety standpoint, a man pass allows a person working with livestock to make a quick exit from the pen to avoid injury. There are over 56...
Make It Easy to Keep Tanks Clean
Dec. 9 2015
Handy Hint: December 2015 Make It Easy to Keep Tanks Clean To ensure that water tanks are cleaned out regularly at Duncan Acres Dairy in Franklinton, La., farm owner Brent Duncan placed several milk house...
Get it right the first time
Nov. 6 2015
Handy Hint: November 2015 Get it right the first time Hooking the hydraulic hoses to our tractor can be time consuming and frustrating. It often takes a couple trips in and out of the tractor to rearrange...
Calves on the Move
Oct. 15 2015
Handy Hint: October 25, 2015 Calves on the Move We like the convenience of a golf cart on the farm but had never found a good way to move new calves with it. My husband and father-in-law converted the...
A cow scratcher on demand
Oct. 8 2015
Handy Hint: October 10, 2015 A cow scratcher on demand We made a cow scratcher that we can move from pen to pen on our farm. We took an old road sweeper brush and washed and sanitized the bristles. Next,...
A scrapper support system
Sept. 22 2015
Handy Hint: September 25, 2015 A scrapper support system The metal support braces on my barn floor scraper rusted and broke before the scraper blade wore out. New replacements did the same thing. To solve...
A windbreak made of recycled tires
Sept. 9 2015
Handy Hint: September 10, 2015 A windbreak made of recycled tires Hunter Ridge Dairy in Ault, Colo., built a 3,800-head heifer yard last year to bring their young stock home to the dairy. While the outline...
A Flexible Sprayer
Aug. 27 2015
Handy Hint: August 25, 2015 A Flexible Sprayer I created a single nozzle sprayer and attached it to a hydraulic cylinder. I mounted it on the front end loader of my tractor. I have a valve to feed this...
Combine gates for a flexible cattle corral
July 29 2015
Handy Hint: August 10, 2015 Combine gates for a flexible cattle corral Andy Musgrave of Pittsfield, Ill., was looking for a way to create portable cattle corrals. He took 20-foot metal gates and welded...
Portable vise makes work easier
July 7 2015
Handy Hint: July 2015 Portable vise makes work easier Sometimes I need a vise or something to hold parts that I'm working on when I am away from the workshop. Since I have an ATV bobcat with a dump box...
Give cows privacy while calving
June 5 2015
Handy Hint: June 2015 Give cows privacy while calving (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3";...
Save hats from washing machine wear and tear
May 19 2015
Handy Hint: May 25, 2015 Save hats from washing machine wear and tear (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id...
Flashing tape works great on silage bags
May 4 2015
Handy Hint: May 10, 2015 Flashing tape works great on silage bags (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;...
No awkward third wheel here
April 14 2015
Handy Hint: April 25, 2015 No awkward third wheel here (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src =...
This wall stops the wind
March 31 2015
Handy Hint: April 10, 2015 This wall stops the wind (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3";...
Adapted loader bucket moves trees and brush
March 17 2015
Handy Hint: March 25, 2015 Adapted loader bucket moves trees and brush I made two prongs for my loader bucket to load trees onto a flatbed wagon. They are 6 inches wide, and the top is 24 inches long with...
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