The Benefits of Automatic Waterers

Jun 15, 2026


Cows interacting with a Ritchie automatic waterer
A water trough that is always full, stays clean, and keeps water at a comfortable temperature is an attractive offering to livestock. Especially during the summer months, it is important to encourage your animals to drink by preventing any water conditions that could turn them away, like stale and stagnant water or contaminants such as algae.
 
Unfortunately, maintaining each trough by yourself is not an enjoyable farm chore. Large farms often have many different tanks, which can turn into a time-consuming process when having to clean each one. Small farms, on the other hand, are likely to have too few hands on deck to spend such time on one task.
 
Automatic waterers can help mitigate the work required to get the job done. Benefits of automatic waterers include:
 
  1. Provides cleaner, fresher water that is less likely to become stagnant.
  2. Keeps water cool in the summer and prevents freezing in the winter.
  3. Means less time and labor spent cleaning troughs; no more lugging around buckets or dragging out the hose to fill up the trough.
  4. Provides constant availability of drinking water, therefore preventing dehydration.
  5. Wastes less water; no more dumping out gallons of water to clean buckets and troughs.
  6. Reduces energy costs compared to using traditional tank heaters.


 
Your local Co-op has access to a variety of automatic waterers, and our friendly staff can help you select the best one for your needs. To find your nearest Co-op location click here.
 

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