There are tales of cows (as my late dairy farmer father used to say) "stacking on the works" when someone they didn't recognise walked into a milking shed, or if they heard an unfamiliar voice. They've been known to charge quad-bikes, bellowing disapproval at these noisy things trying to hurry them on at a pace that's too fast for their liking.

Their contempt for loud rock music is notorious, but they will tolerate Lou Reed (in his quieter, more reflective moments), Aretha Franklin's less up-tempo hits (What a Difference a Day Makes) and they adore Christmas carols.

Remember ABC Classic FM's series of Swoon CDs? Christopher Lawrence, the dairy cows (and farmers) of Australia thank you for your unacknowledged contribution to boosting the nation's milk production.

Science backs this milking-shed musical folklore. A recent study in Britain confirmed that dairy cows produced more milk when listening to relaxing music.

Psychologists at the University of Leicester played music of different tempos to herds of about 1000 Friesian cows for nine weeks, discovering rowdy bands like Wonderstuff, Jamiroquai, Supergrass and Mud put them off their milk. But milk yields rose by just over 3 per cent in response to Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Waters.

Playing soothing music in the milking shed may be one way to boost milk production, but these gains may be short-lived. A new threat has emerged that could cause estimated milk losses of up to 280 litres of milk a year for each cow global warming.

Dairy cows dislike heat as much as if not more than they dislike Jamiroquai's Space Cowboy or Wolfmother's Joker and the Thief blasting away in the milking shed.

At the five-day Australian Dairy conference in Shepparton in northern Victoria last week, climate change was to dominate the agenda.

Source: The Canberra Times