Opinion
Does music make cows produce more milk?
Many dairy farmers will tell you that playing music to their cows, or having the radio on in the milking parlour, helps to increase the volume of milk produced.
Back in 2003, research carried out by the University of Leicester in the UK looked at the different types of music that would have such a positive effect.
Classical music such as Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony increased the yield, as did pop classics such as Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, Aretha Franklin’s What a Difference a Day Makes or Danny Williams’ Moon River.
Among the music that lead to a milk downturn was Space Cowboy by Jamiroquai and Mud’s rendition of Tiger Feet.
Very recently, we’ve read a claim that performing William Shakespeare’s plays to a dairy herd can help boost production. The Bard’s works were said to relax the cows and help boost production by as much as 4%, with The Merry Wives of Windsor among the favourites.
So what does help the flow of milk? Classical music, jazz, pop, blues, poetry, plays – or silence? And why?
Geoff Platt is editor of Dairy Innovation magazine. Subscribe here.
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Geoff Platt is editor of Dairy Innovation
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