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Cows make more milk when listening to slow jams

'Club classics' were found to have no effect

Christopher Hooton
Wednesday 19 February 2014 15:28 GMT
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A chilled cow is a productive cow
A chilled cow is a productive cow (Getty)

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In easily the most important agricultural news, if not world news, of the day, it has emerged that slow jams can stimulate milk production in cows.

A report in Modern Farmer links a study by the University of Leicester that found that slow music can mitigate stress in cows and increase the amount of milk they produce by 3% with anecdotal evidence from several dairy corporations.

"In terms of music, in my 30 years working with dairy cows, I have found that music can be beneficial to the well-being of the cows, but it must be consistent and calming," said Juan Velez, executive vice president of Aurora Organic Farms.

Slow songs were found to have a positive lactational effect, while faster music like 'Euro club classics' made no difference.

"I am not sure why there is not more research on the cow-music-milk production relationship,” said Dr. Leanne Alworth of the University of Georgia’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

The report suggested that findings could be attributed to the music drowning out loud mechanical noises consitstent with a milking parlour, as opposed to cow's inherent love of a tender ballad.

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