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.

Level driveways and cow yards
March 9 2015
Handy Hint: March 10, 2015 Level driveways and cow yards I was looking for something to level my driveways around the yard. Instead of buying a spendy big scraper, I took two pallets that were just laying...
Giving drivers a heads-up
Feb. 17 2015
Handy Hint: February 25, 2015 Giving drivers a heads-up We want to do our best to share the road with others, so we ordered three of these signs from a local safety shop to give drivers a warning to watch...
Ensure headlocks are unlocked
Jan. 28 2015
Handy Hint: February 10, 2015 Ensure headlocks are unlocked Do you ever worry about leaving cows potentially locked up in the headlocks? Mike McLeod had the same concern and decided to do something about...
This mineral feeder stays in place
Jan. 19 2015
Handy Hint: January 25, 2015 This mineral feeder stays in place We use this concrete pipe to offer our cows a mineral block and sodium bicarb. It is roughly 20 inches tall and 20 inches in diameter. It...
A way to better track colostrum
Jan. 8 2015
Handy Hint: January 10, 2015 A way to better track colostrum After collecting colostrum from fresh cows at Caroncrest Farms in Caronport, Saskatchewan, Canada, each container is given a tracking tag. The...
Shield keeps stalls dry
Dec. 11 2014
Handy Hint: December 2014 Shield keeps stalls dry We had cows splashing water from the drinking fountain into the first two stalls of our freestall barn, and no one would lie in them. To stop this, we...
Keep vaccines convenient and cool
Nov. 6 2014
Handy Hint: November 2014 Keep vaccines convenient and cool I'd like to make an addition to the handy hint, "Keep vaccination supplies handy," which appeared on page 549 of the August 25, 2014, issue....
An unbreakable bottle holder
Oct. 17 2014
Handy Hint: October 25, 2014 An unbreakable bottle holder Our calves tended to destroy the bottle holders we've purchased in the past, so we created this alternative. After some construction on the farm,...
Keep water tank hose in place
Oct. 9 2014
Handy Hint: October 10, 2014 Keep water tank hose in place Our cows kept pulling the hose for our plate cooler out of the water tank. If we kept the end of the hose below the water surface, it would back...
Extended chute saves trucks and grain
Sept. 17 2014
Handy Hint: September 25, 2014 Extended chute saves trucks and grain When one of my employees came too close to a truck last year while filling it with the grain cart, I decided to fix the problem. I simply...
Save plastic with smooth bunker edges
Sept. 12 2014
Handy Hint: September 10, 2014 Save plastic with smooth bunker edges Tired of the plastic bunker cover getting caught and torn from the edge of the concrete walls. Reuter Farms in Peosta, Iowa, came up...
Keep vaccination supplies handy
Aug. 19 2014
Handy Hint: August 25, 2014 Keep vaccination supplies handy We created a belt that makes vaccinating calves easier. We took a carpenter apron and riveted three PVC clamps to the belt. Then we cut a PVC...
Makes great footing for cows
Aug. 1 2014
Handy Hint: August 10, 2014 Makes great footing for cows I made this grooving bull float to create good traction on the concrete in our dry cow yard. I bought a 4-foot magnesium bull float for $90 and...
Bottle holder keeps sunlight out
July 11 2014
Handy Hint: July 2014 bottle holder keeps sunlight out We put a bottle cooler around our medicine bottles that require protection from sunlight. (Temperature variation and exposure to sunlight can reduce...
Quick and easy calf ID
June 9 2014
Handy Hint: June 2014 Quick and easy calf ID When our primary calf feeder had time off, we sometimes got behind on tagging calves. We came to the solution of using plastic tags and dry erase markers that...
Creative solution for a small commodity bay
May 15 2014
Handy Hint: May 25, 2014 Creative solution for a small commodity bay We have a commodity bay on the farm that is too small for a truck to dump into. To solve this problem, we mounted a used cyclone from...
Jig moves combine headers
May 1 2014
Handy Hint: May 10, 2014 Jig moves combine headers I needed a way to move combine headers to work on them or put them away for storage without always starting the combine. I made this simple jig from scrap...
Hydraulic hose more durable for parlor
April 17 2014
Handy Hint: April 25, 2014 Hydraulic hose more durable for parlor We were going through two or three conventional rubber hoses a year in our parlor. They just didn't hold up to being drug around on the...
Belt keeps knives out of pockets and within reach
March 21 2014
Handy Hint: March 25, 2014 Belt keeps knives out of pockets and within reach After ruining several pairs of overalls during hoof trimming by placing my knives into the pockets, I finally came up with a...
Barrel gives float protection
Feb. 26 2014
Handy Hint: March 10, 2014 Barrel gives float protection Our cattle were constantly licking the bottom of our float and getting it out of socket, letting the water free flow and making a big mess. To prevent...
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