Think back to those wonder-filled days of childhood - the days when a walk around your family's farm was filled with shock and awe of everything you stumbled upon. That large, shiny stainless steel tank in the milk house was likely no exception. Channeling the inner youth of our 125-year magazine, we wanted to know how those shiny dairy farm hood ornaments are made. We recently visited Boumatic's manufacturing facility in Madison, Wis., where we were treated to a tour of how milk bulk tanks come to life. While the entire process isn't included in the below video, one very cool step is. To see more pictures of the whole process, see our May 25 buildings and equipment issue, page 392. There, on the Young Dairymen page, you'll find the answer to the question, "How are bulk tanks made?"

What you're seeing in the video: In this early step in the process, the inner of two layers is being formed. You'll notice that the inside looks white - that's because during most of the manufacturing process the portion which will come in contact with milk is protected by a very thin layer of plastic. This protects the steel from scratches and contamination. The stainless steel moves through very heavy rollers to work its way up into a cylinder shape. At the end of the video, you'll notice one employee cleaning the edges and preparing them to be welded together.