August 25, 2010 Handy Hint Trailer built for easy fresh cow travel Fresh cows are ferried back to the milking string with this low-rider trailer. Designed by Lorin Berge, Valders, Wis., the tractor-drawn...
A near capacity crowd attended the Monday morning genomics presentation by Holstein USA geneticist at the 125th annual convention in Bloomington, Minn., Tom Lawlor. During his presentation, Lawlor explained...
Why some fresh cows have problems by Andres Contreras, Nial O'Boyle, and Lorraine Sordillo Mammals, including our dairy cows, have great energy demands around parturition . . . not only to support growth...
Back in January, USDA and other price forecasters were predicting a good recovery in milk prices. For the first six months of this year, milk prices averaged higher than last year but still were more than...
August 10, 2010 Handy Hint Brush-moving attachment For trimming and hauling brush, this device, which fits on my skid steer, is by far the best labor- saving item I have ever constructed. It could be almost...
June Handy Hint: Durable esophageal feeder We made this esophageal feeder from a one-gallon mayonnaise plastic jar. There is a hook on the lid that holds a leather neck strap (freeing your hands). On the...
July Handy Hint: When to breed heifers At the Hoard's Farm, we created this quick detection method when a heifer is in the chute to determine if she is eligible to breed. A line was drawn on a 2 x 4 at...
The dairy breeding industry has had a boisterous 2010. Genomic predictions needed a course correction, and one was applied this past April. "Boisterous" is not the adjective that everyone involved would...
Connecting with Fairgoers: Don't miss an opportunity Seeing your animal at the fair may be as close as consumers get to a farm - make it a positive experience. Nothing gets dairy youth more excited than...
May 25 Handy Hint: Whiteboard tracks ketosis testing At Summitholme Holsteins in Lynden, Ontario, a simple dry erase board is used to track ketosis testing for fresh cows. The whiteboard is labeled with...
I wanted to write regarding a true story about my husband. It has been a very hard time for our family. Our two sons took over the dairy 10 years ago, and we are proud of them. I retired from milking four...
May 10 Handy Hint: Train wheels pack bunker We made a silage packer from 10 old iron train wheels. It works very well when packing our corn silage and haylage bunkers. The total weight of the packer is...
I always have to sit back in my chair and contemplate a quote from W. D. Hoard when I read one. These one liners were made years ago. They were made at a time when agriculture was still powered by raw...
April 10, 2010 Handy Hint Sliding doors offer light, ventilation Instead of installing several large windows, the Kremers at Donkelman farms in Tillsonburg, Ontario, installed large sliding glass doors...
January 25, 2010 Handy Hint Text cows and heifers in heat We issued cell phones to all our employees. As part of the agreement with our employees for using the farm-issued cell phones, we want employees...
Feb 25, 2010 Handy Hint Best milk replacer mixer I use a 12-inch milk filter spring to mix batches of milk replacer, and I've found the spring is the best mixer ever; it's stainless steel so it's easy...
Sliding doors offer light, ventilation Instead of installing several large windows, the Kremers at Donkelman farms in Tillsonburg, Ontario, installed large sliding glass doors along the perimeter of their...
Easy and clean way to move newborn calves I wanted an easy and clean way to move newborn calves to our hutch area which is on the other side of the farm. I cut off the top of a 250-gallon portable water...
Handy Hint: Jan 10, 2010 Colored Tape Marks Distance During the winter months, my employees are so bundled up that they have a hard time turning around inside the skid loader to see behind them. This led...
Handy Hints March 25, 2010 Top Hint: Durable, rust-free stall scraper After having yet another "quality" free stall sand scraper rust, fatigue, and come apart, I built this lightweight, yet extremely strong,...