Dairy farmers in Russia are going to some interesting, high-tech lengths to try to keep their cows calm and help them produce milk: outfitting them with VR headsets, the BBC reported.
Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Moscow Region
Farmers Are Putting VR Headsets On Cows To Help Them Produce Better Milk
The theory goes that anxious cows produce less milk, so providing them with a more soothing environment should boost their production.
Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Moscow Region
But of course, a soothing environment isn't always readily at hand, especially during a gray, bleak Russian winter.
And so, the farmers rigged up some VR headsets to fit on their cows' faces and pumped in some nice, calming views of summer fields.
It's all part of an effort to use technology to improve the lives of dairy cows.
Flickr | J. Nisly
They do have fairly stressful lives, as some face as many as four milkings a day, which can cause significant wear and tear.
As Popular Mechanics reported, one of the more recent advances has seen robotic milking stations on dairy farms, which allow cows to manage their own milking schedule and "pull in" to a milking station when they feel the need, much like pulling off the road for a snack when you're on a trip.
So far, it looks like the stress reduction is indeed helping the cows.
At least, the first tests supposedly improved "the overall mood of the herd." There's no word on whether the milk yield increased or not, but the VR headsets are part of a longer-term study anyway.
While the preliminary test might have been a success, there's still much more to consider.
As Engadget noted, there are some significant questions to ask about this research, particularly whether or not it's a jarring experience for cows when they have to remove the headsets and return to a bleak reality, or whether battery life might pose an issue.
h/t: BBC, Popular Mechanics, Engadget
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