Researchers on RusMoloko farm in Russia are trialling virtual reality (VR) headsets for cows, according to the Russian Ministry of Agriculture and Food for the Moscow region.

The headsets are designed to improve cow's moods and therefore, researchers hope to increase production and quality of the milk.

They allow the cows to see the image of a summer field on a monitor inside the headsets. During the first test, experts recorded a decrease in anxiety and an increase in the overall emotional mood of the herd.

Increased productivity

In parts of Moscow, manufacturers install sound equipment for broadcasting classical music on farms; the relaxing effect of which is reported to positively affect milk output.

Wageningen University in the Netherlands and Scotland's Rural College in Scotland have both done research on environmental conditions of dairy cows and found that improving livestock welfare has a significant positive effect on milk production.

While maintaining observations, the developers intend to scale the project and modernise dairy production.

A further and more comprehensive study will be run to determine the overall outcomes.

Read more

Agritechnica: Roscommon man's driverless smart tractor steals show in Germany

IFA dairy committee to meet with co-ops over milk price

Rise of the robots