Happy Cows Use Virtual Reality to Pretend it's Summer

Here's one application of virtual reality we didn't see coming: happy cows and better milk.

1 minute read

November 28, 2019, 1:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Pasture land

Gary C. Tognoni / Shutterstock

Leah Asmelash reports the story of dairy farmers in Russia who are installing virtual reality headsets on cows to fool them into thinking it's summer, and then producing tastier milk. The farmers also hope the cows will produce more milk. That's quality and quantity.

Any cheese aficionado worth their Sakura knows that springtime cows produce cheese that tastes like flowers, and studies have shown that environmental conditions impact milk produced. Still, this experiment will need more data to connect the dots between virtual reality and high quality milk. Already, however, the Russian farmers report lowered anxiety levels in the cows outfitted for a virtual summer.

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