Improved system to feed calves To help improve our calf feeding situation, I built a stainless steel vat that holds 20 gallons of milk or milk replacer. Now I don't have to carry heavy pails around that...
Here are a few 2011 Handy Hints from fellow readers. 2011: Handy Hint January 10 Handy Hint January 25 Handy Hint February 10 Handy Hint February 25 Handy Hint March 10 Handy Hint March 25 Handy Hint April...
Low-Cost Bottle Holder We were tired of our bottles and nipples always being in a mess, so we built this holder out of 1/2-inch PVC pipe. We put the bottles on the long pipes and the nipples on the short...
Simple welds secure sliding barn door I made this holder for our pole barn door by first putting a hollow pipe 2 feet long in the ground at the center of the door. Then I took a pipe that fit inside and...
Glove box rack made from old calf pen panels I made this simple and inexpensive glove box holder out of calf panels that were so bent we couldn't use them any more. I cut the pieces to my desired length...
Plastic barrel holds entire milking set The farm at Mississippi State University, Starkville, Miss., needed a way to hold milk meters when they weren't using them. They were able to fit over a dozen in...
Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Archives March 11, 2013: "ABCs of alfalfa harvest" presented by Ev Thomas, William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute Brought to you by W-L Alfalfas (www.wlresearch.com)...
Grader makes great feed scraper We needed something to scrape up feed on our farm and had this three-point grader blade that we no longer used. We welded a short piece of angle iron onto our skidloader...
Safer calf hauler After seeing some great adaptations of chemical totes for calf haulers in the Handy Hints' section, we tried our own. Hoard's Dairyman Farm staff folded one section of plastic down and...
Simple pipe protects water source I put a bent pipe around the waterer to protect it from the bull and tractor. It has saved the waterer many times already and costs almost nothing to manufacture
Durable milk room port I installed a piece of 6-inch PVC pipe through the milk house wall, then added a cabinet handle to the 6-inch PVC cap. I have a long-lasting port that won't tear up the milk
Leg bands track weaning progress To keep track of our weaning calves' weaning process, we use red leg bands on the hutch gates. A red band on the top row indicates that the calf is weaning. After one week...
Springs keep buckets in place These rake springs keep our calf pails in the right spot. It's very simple to assemble. We just screw the spring into the stand for our calf buckets. Michael Kleinsasser
There are three simple truths when it comes to the milk market, noted Mike North, a senior hedge consultant with First Capitol Ag, at the ABA National Agricultural Bankers Conference
Water hydrant won't freeze We had problems with our outdoor water hydrants freezing at the base (underground), making the hydrant useless until early spring. To fix this, we dug a hole about 12 inches...
Handy Hint: October 25, 2012 Caps Identify Colostrum Quality We use half-gallon jugs to store colostrum on our farm. Using a 2-liter soda crate to hold the jugs upright in a freezer, we can quickly identify...
Four Guernseys in the Hoard's Dairyman Herd are Class Production Leaders The Hoard's Dairyman Farm in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, is home to a number of new class leaders in 2012. Dairyman Neon Zest, D-77,...
Handy Hint: October 10, 2012 Tote Bag Unloaded We used to have a lot of problems unloading heavy tote bags full of supplements. This plugged the augers and spilled when it was windy. I took an empty teat...
"Rethinking your feeding options for 2013" was the topic of discussion on yesterday's (October) Hoard's Dairyman webinar presented by Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois. Drought-stressed feed, low yields...
