Dairy farmers are the original engineers, finding creative solutions to solving common and not-so-common problems on the farm. Whether it’s choosing the welder over an expensive repair bill or figuring out how to track data on your own to avoid another monthly subscription fee, farmers are constantly looking internally for homemade remedies to create cost-savings, improve their processes, and keep moving forward. Since we know farmers learn the most from other farmers, we want to create a platform to share those ideas so that other farms may benefit from them. That’s why we created this “Farmer-Made Ingenuity” Contest!
Enter your best idea for a chance to win $1,000 – and benefit from seeing what other farmers have to share. The top three ideas with the most votes will win a cash prize, and everyone will benefit by learning more about those inventive solutions that may be hiding in plain sight on many of our dairy farms. Click here to submit your idea by December 12.
Looking for inspiration? Here are a few examples of creative, farmer-made solutions:
- Pill gun made out of two pieces of PVC pipe
- Excel spreadsheet that calculates Daily Dry Matter Intakes
- A homemade calf milk pasteurizer wagon with an electric kettle
- Feed pusher welded and molded out of an old tire scraper
- Farm-engineered methane digester
- Get creative! Submit any homegrown ideas you can think of that have helped you move your farm forward.
Requirements:
- Must be a dairy producer or dairy farm employee
- Must be from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware or New Jersey
- Must be an original idea developed by the dairy producer and/or dairy employee
- Must be an idea that solves a problem on the farm without risking worker safety
Prizes:
The winners will be selected in January 2026 through a digital voting system. All submitted entries may be featured on the Center’s channels. The selected winners will be spotlighted on our digital channels and at the PA Dairy Summit in February 2026.
The following cash prizes are available:
- First Place – $1,000
- Second Place –$500
- Third Place – $250
Entry Deadline:
The contest will run from November 3 – December 12, 2025. Submit your idea below by December 12!
Enter Your Idea:
Enter the “Farmer-Made Ingenuity” Contest
"*" indicates required fields