Confessions From a Husband and a Nutritionist

Profile Picture of Post's Author Paul Dyk | Posted December 11, 2023

A confession. I thought it looked straight, drilled two holes in the wall and hung the picture. My wife didn’t see it that way and now we have three holes in the wall. After a couple decades of marriage, there is no discussion… I should have used a level or used her eagle eye.

A second confession. For a long time, I thought I could go onto a dairy and eyeball if a TMR mixer was level… no wife present to double check the measurement.

And now I know better. I’ve been looking at enough TMR mixers and have realized there is something called an optical illusion. It usually begins in a poorly lit commodity shed with a mixer backed into a loading bay. A whey distribution bar is positioned above the mixer in a straight, if not level, position. The roof is pitched slightly, the floor has some leftover feed and the payloader that fills the mixer approaches from an angle.

Is the mixer level?

It seems level with the whey bar. Well, maybe. The tractor is on a slight angle with the ramp that’s included in the loading bay. Is that hitch higher and making that front end higher? The concrete where the payloader approaches the mixer seems slightly pitched to allow water runoff. Is that why the payloader bucket seems like it’s not parallel with the top of the mixer?

I pull out technology: my phone. I use that high tech app that has a level embedded. Maybe it’s the size of my phone but holding that 5-inch screen and trying to determine if the mixer is level seems foolhardy. No more accurate than the hanging of fine art (or copy of fine art) in my living room.

A level. Northern Tools has 102 on their website. $1.99 to $2249.99. I’m thinking the 4-foot, $30 model will do the trick.

Does it matter if the mixer isn’t perfectly level? Absolutely yes. I’ve seen a triple screw mixer with a 3-inch drop from center to back (6-inch from front to back) yield quality control results that were unacceptable. The heavier ingredients (first ones loaded) can migrate to the back and you will have a TMR that can have higher protein and mineral levels in the back of the mixer. If this is fed across 2 pens, one pen will always be overfed and the other will be underfed.

I’m glad you checked the mixer last year. Is it still level?

Check it regularly. Change the oil, check the knives in the mixer, check to see if it is level…. Check it in the loading area(s) and in areas where it might be doing a final 3-4 minute mix at the end of loading.

Remember changes that can occur:

  1. You bought a new tractor
  2. You are using the spare tractor
  3. You put new tires on the tractor (yes that can be enough)
  4. You have snow or old feed in the loading bay.
  5. You built a new commodity shed where the loading area is not level.
  6. The commodity loading area was level, but you do your final mix on an angle in front of the freestall
  7. Etc.

Stop eyeballing. Buy a level, use it, be free of guilt and sleep well.

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