Portable Water Trough

Portable water trough LIVESTOCK Miscellaneous 16-4-7 "Several years ago I started using rotational grazing for 100 milk cows, putting them on pastures up to 3/4 mile from our barn. To use this feeding method, I had to come up with a way to get water to the animals," says Rick Lawrence, Cape Vincent, N.Y. "Professor Robert Lucey at Cornell University told me that in Germany they mount water bowls on a flatbed and use gravity to fill them from a tank mounted directly on the wagon. I tried that idea for two years but found that cows spent too much time waiting their turn to drink from the water bowls, even with three of them in place. "So I rebuilt the tandem-axled wagon, extending the chassis of the bed out beyond the rear wheels just far enough, and the right distance apart, to accommodate a 100-gal. rubber water tank. The lips of the tank rest on the wooden frame I built around it. I also put a plank under the tank - hanging from chains - to provide extra support. I had to use big beams to make the frame of the trailer so it would hold the tank high enough off the ground and so that the trailer would have the strength to support the 1,000-gal. water tank. "This tank lets me take water any-where I need it. Experts say cows on lush pasture don't require much water but mine go through the 1,000 gal. in 10 hrs. on a warm day. So I'm sure I make more milk by having water easily available." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rick Lawrence, Rt. 1, Box 139, Cape Vincent, N.Y. 13618 (ph 315 654-2624).

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