RADIO MUSIC FOR COWS IN HAWKE’S BAY SHEDS

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27564, 22 January 1955, Page 2

RADIO MUSIC FOR COWS IN HAWKE’S BAY SHEDS

“The Special Service

HASTINGS, January 21. There are few cowsheds now not equipped with radio. Music, it has been found, keeps the cows quiet and, it has been claimed, increases their yield. Several years ago farmers began experimenting with installing radio sets in their cowsheds and the practice is now widespread. In the early morning milking is carried on to the hiss, suck and whirr of the machines, and the soothing- strains of Bing Crosby or the Andrews Sisters. One Hawke’s Bay farmer claims that in his herd musical tastes vary. “There’s old Jill over there,” he says.

“One of the best milkers I’ve got. She definitely doesn’t like martial music; vocalists are her chief enjoyment. Jill's always flcat into the yard, lays her head againsrthe set, and has to be almost pushed into the bail.” The farmer said that Jerry the bull also shared his herd’s liking for cowshed entertainment. “We’ve tried him out,” he said. "Jerry usually hangs around the back of the shed, close up by the radio. When we’ve turned it off he wanders away. “The youngsters usually don’t take much notice of the radio. To them it’s just a noise, I guess. But the older the cow, the more she likes those early-morning blues.”