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.

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...
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...
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