On a dairy, we sometimes think it is our life’s work to open and close gates. It can be so routine that we begin to overlook the importance of a good, well-latched gate. We have all seen that telltale sign of gate troubles. You know somewhere a gate was neglected when a fourth-lactation docile high-producing cow dances across the front yard of the barn like a bred heifer.

As a machinery salesperson and consultant in the dairy industry, I spend a lot of time on feedpads, from looking at how rations are mixed to suggesting what type of loader a farm should use. In order to make qualified recommendations in the past, I have looked at mixer sizes, fuel usage, rations, loader owning and operating costs, and much more. In the end, my advice was based more on experience than on a quantifiable reason.