Farmers are increasingly using technology to help their animals. Some use music. Some use automated brushes that the cows love (seriously, look up the videos – they’re hilarious). The RusMoloko farm in Moscow went a different direction. They’re giving their cows virtual reality headsets.
No, the cows aren’t playing Superhot VR or getting high scores in Beat Saber. Virtual reality architects, along with veterinarians and consultants, have apparently created a simulation of a summer field for the cows to enjoy according to a report released by the Russian Agriculture Ministry.
The rationale behind this is the hope that a less anxious cow will produce more milk and of a higher quality.
Seems legit.
The report suggests that so far the VR headsets have boosted “the overall emotional mood of the herd and recorded a decrease in anxiety.” However, there have been no follow-up reports about milk production or quality. It’s early days yet.
News outlets have been understandably going mad over this story but some reporters have questioned its truthfulness. One reporter at sickchirpse.com points out that similar stories have popped up in the past and have proven to be either fake news or outright satire. This includes a viral campaign by Appenzeller cheese in Switzerland which saw cows with a similar setup.
There’s also the fact that only two pictures actually exist showing the one cow in the headset. But who knows, it could be real and this might be the dawn of a new era in farming. Chickens with custom VR headsets? Sure, it’d be fun to see that.
It does beg the question though: why not just let the cows roam about an actual field? If you’re going to spend so much on the development of cow VR headsets, surely it’d be easier to buy a bigger patch of land.
We’ll see if any more reports come from RusMoloko about their milk production and whether their cows are happier. For now though, we can all enjoy the thoughts of a cow playing Pistol Whip in VR.
For more on how the meat industry is changing, check out this article on Meat Versus “Meat”.
