I recently was scrolling through my social media feed and came across a picture of the cow with a set of Virtual Reality goggles over its head. Reading the article, the premise seemed sound, although a bit outlandish. Let a cow see itself relaxing in a lush green pasture and it will make higher quality milk.

I have read studies out of Brazil where cows’ stress hormone, cortisol, is measured against different handling methods. To no one’s surprise, cows as a species are easily stressed.

So this begs the question, what makes cows happy?

First off, you need to make the immediate assumption that cows are like crotchety librarians. They want to follow a schedule, don’t want anyone running around chaotically and for God’s sake, be quiet! Old time dairy farmers have always said, if you keep them cool, dry and fed they are happy.

There are a few other specific things we can be doing though that will make our girls more comfortable. Cows are social and love to be brushed, either by an installed barn brush or other means. I recently read about robotic farms that require the hired hands to spend time in the stalls brushing the cows. Why? Because cows love it.

When moving cows, it is critical to not make a ton of noise or hurt them. Harming a cow causes it stress, which lowers milk production. The Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) is an organization that certifies that animals that humans use for food are treated well. The curriculum is designed to protect the animals, but it also makes handling and movement much less stressful on them. There are some simple blocking movements, for example, that will steer cows where they are supposed to go without every touching them.

The bedding also plays a critical role in overall cow health and contentment. Because cows spend hours lying on bedding while manufacturing milk, it needs to be dry and comfortable. Finally, make sure that cows have ample room to move around. Being confined to tight quarters makes them tense and increases overall stress.

Taking care to provide cows with comfortable, stress free living environments will add measurable benefits to production and overall milk quality. Happy cows = healthy cows = better milk.

By Brett Roeller
Director of National Accounts, QualiTru Sampling Systems
brett@qualitru.com   Follow Brett on LinkedIn