Im a student at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth with the Biological Sciences department. I am currently completing research into whether playing music to a dairy herd can increase the milk yield. I have been working with a herd of Guernsey, and classical music (Mozart- symphony 41 in C major) and the data suggests there is no change in production. Does anyone else have evidence to suggest otherwise? Do you feel your herd is effected by music exposure? If you have any comments or information that could be of help please contact me either through the forum or my email kll2@aber.ac.uk Thanks Katie

Friend of mine always has on extreme heavy metal at extreme volume - no curdling as yet.

Can't hear a thing for the bl**dy pulsators!

my cows won't leave the parlour because the t.v.on.

The music I think will make the cows less alarmed at someone different being in the parlour whilst milking. Cows are creatures of habit, anything different is cause for their attention. AC

you have a tv in the parlour?

Having spent a few years milking, I reckon there are two main benefits of having the radio on in the parlour. The first is it keeps the milker in a good mood and entertained - like in the car. The second is that cows are used to changing background noise and voices, so sudden noise or unknown voices are less noticeable to them and therefore less of a concern. I vaguely remember a study in the past that reckoned it didn't matter what was on the radio - pre-internet days so not sure how you would find this - and not even sure it was in the UK. But good luck with your project. Jessica Buss Livestock editor

Something tells me that Penn State Uni in the good old US of A carried out reseach into this, could be worth a try?!

http://www.le.ac.uk/press/press/moosicstudy.html and http://www.organicconsumers.org/rbgh/classical_music_milk_production.cfm [i]"Moo" over Limp Bizkit? Researchers at Great Britain's University of Leicester found that 1,000 Holstein cattle exposed to slow music (less than 100 beats per minute), such as Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, gave 3 percent more milk than those not exposed to music at all. Fast, screechy music (more than 120 beats per minute) actually caused a decrease in milk production."[/i] Wonderstuff's 'Size of a cow' didn't feature well apparently!