I don’t know which I like more, the fact that these guys pulled over and played jazz for cows, or the fact that the cows were clearly digging it.
The dairy farm we visit always has the radio on in the cow barn. I don’t know any music-deprived cows to which to compare our local cows, but our local gals do always seem calm and happy.
Apparently it’s an unsettled question, whether or not slow jams make cows give more milk. Here are some scientists doing their best to find out:
PIC music for cows
From an NPR story:
Alas, the science of music and milking remains sketchy at best, says Anne Marie de Passille, a Canadian research scientist who studies cow behavior and welfare.
No one has been able (or willing) to replicate a 2001 study that seemed to indicate that milk production goes up when cows are serenaded with soothing music of 100 beats per minute or slower.
“When you think about it, the chances that all cows would like the same music are really slim,” [de Passille] says. “I think they are individuals, and we didn’t select them for their taste in music. … Why would they all like the same music?”
I feel, at any rate, that it’s probably good for people to spend more time playing music for cows. I don’t know why I feel that way; I just do.