I use a bowl brush in my 1/2-inch cordless drill to clean the waterers on our farm. This picture is one that I just cleaned. It came out pretty clean and saves a lot of scrubbing
At Vir-Clar Farm in Fond du Lac, Wis., co-owner and calf manager Katie Grinstead uses a system of colored duct tape to communicate with calf feeders. Different colored duct tape attached t
To make feeding wrapped round bales easier in the barn we made a round bale turntable. On a four-wheeled wagon, we mounted an old wheel hub with the rim bolted on and then welded a metal plate t
All I needed to make this homemade calf hutch door to protect calves during winter storms was a pallet, a tarp, staples, nails, baler twine, and slat wood. First, I took a tarp and folded it so
We built this 12- by 12-foot-square frame building to wash our calf hutches. It is 8 feet tall, has a floor grate that is 16 inches off the ground, and old windbreaker panels on three side
We transport milk over to our calf area using 5-gallon buckets with lids. I was annoyed by how quickly our already hard-to-see premarked milk amount lines (using “longer lasting” ear tag pen
Handy Hint: September 25, 2016 Wash bottles with a push of a button I was searching for a more efficient way to wash and dry calf milk bottles. Two years ago, I bought a dishwasher through Craigslist for...
Our farm created this calf pen with a roof that can be lifted up and down. My dad, Fred Ritsema, and employees from his 3,000-cow dairy welded the pen. The roof is lifted by a hand winch and strong cable,...
I was restoring a John Deere 4250 tractor, and the original tractor seat had tears in the fabric and the armrests didn't work properly. Rather than replace it with a new identical seat, I decided to use...
No surprise pipeline washes For an added layer of protection, I installed a limit switch on my swing pipe in the milk house. I wired the switch into my pipeline washer. The pipeline washer will now only...
After losing a tank or two of milk due to the bulk tank not cooling right, I bought a separate thermostat and wired red and green lightbulbs to it. Red goes on when the tank is hot or empty, and green...
This tool scrapes and rakes To help clean the freestalls on our farm, I welded a piece of angle iron to a steel rake and bolted a rubber strip to it. I use the rubber end to scrape manure out of the stalls...
Handy Hint: April 10, 2016 Keep winter's wrath away from calves Here in southern Pennsylvania we received nearly 3 feet of snow during one storm in January, and I needed a way to keep that snow out of...
Handy Hint: March 25, 2016 Gates are easier to open To easily open and close gates, Dave Clark of Godfrey Dairy developed this double-hook system. By creating a U-shaped pipe, one half of the U-bend fits...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...