If You Want More Milk, Give a Cow a Playlist
We all know that stress on animals in a bad thing, and modern day industrial farms are no place for animal solace. When it comes to cows, it turns out that stress is something that farmers think about a lot, at least in terms of milk production.
According to Modern Farmer:
“Dairy farmers have become experts in cow comfort, from barn design to climate control engineering to keep cows as content as possible. But not all the attempts to sooth cows are quite so high tech. It may sounds silly, but some farmers swear by playing relaxing tunes for their herd for maximum milk results. But can you really slow jam your way to higher milk production? Turns out that yes, you just might.”
Yes, that’s right, cows want good music to make more milk.
So what kind of music leads helps cows chill out? Slow music of course. Something more classical or soulful. In fact Modern Farmer put together two different playlists for music loving farmers who want to test out tunes on Bessie. A little Aretha and REM in one and Beethoven in the other.
Cows aren’t the only animals who love music. Elephants, monkeys and cats have all been shown to react positively to slower, soothing music, blissing out to speakers. In fact, an article written all the way back in 1890 explores the relationship between animals and music.
However, cows aren’t digging on Euro trash tunes. “The 2001 University of Leicester study reported that songs like “Everybody Hurts” by REM and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” soothed cows enough to produce the most milk, while such Y2K Euro club classics like Mousse T vs. Hot N Juicy’s “Horny” failed to produce such positive lactational results,” reports Modern Farmer.
The moral of the story? If you have cows, find some Mozart and Beethoven, or just get your cello out and start playing.
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Image: Kabsik Park
