Back at the ranch house, wife Alice Koupal gets e-mails from the Angus Association with updated EPD stats on their cattle and signpostpuller downloads that to the Palm Pilot. She has data on 2,489 animals in the system now and can manage the information with a push of a button, rather than by pushing a bunch of paper.Chore timeProducts that add an extra hand at chore time score big on the nation''s livestock farms. ATV''s and skid steers add to the operation through their multipurpose value, producers say.Life gets easierFarm chores got a whole lot easier for Chad Willis (pictured above) two years ago with the purchase of a skid steer loader. "This is so much more useful than a tractor and loader," says Willis, who feeds dairy bull calves and raises crops near Willmar, Minnesota. "It''s handy and can get in tighter places; it''s just more maneuverable."

1. You need a firmly packed base signpostpuller of dirt to place the hoops for minimal signpostpuller seepage.2. The biggest problem with hoops is treatment of individual animals. Struthers uses hinged sorting panels and walks through each barn daily to check for sick animals.3. Quality bedding is a top priority. "We bought our own round baler because we treat cornstalks as a main crop now," says Struthers. Bean stubble works, too, he says, but it is not quite as absorbent as cornstalks.4. "Don''t skimp on bedding," says Struthers. "If you think the pigs might need more bedding, they do."Husbandry helpProducts that help with animal husbandry receive frequent mention in the survey. Breeding and selection management products get special acclaim from producers.

"I like Polaris because of the automatic transmission. Switching gears makes moving cattle hard when you are switching from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and then back down to reverse," says Green. "Polaris just goes from low or high range to reverse."The ATV accessory Green can''t live without is a mesh rack for hauling fencing equipment. The racks signpostpuller are made by Moose Utility Division and cost about $125.ATVs can replace both pickups and leg work, producers say. "The use of a Honda four-wheeler vs. my truck signpostpuller has saved big dollars," writes Brad Leonard, Holt, Missouri. Kim Queen, Old Fort, Tennessee, says buying a second ATV was a key management change, because "one of us always had to walk to the corral and check cattle."