Name your cow and get more milk

Naming cows and treating them with a personal touch puts more milk in the tank according to research conducted and published in Britain.

Scientists at Newcastle University in England have found that cows which are given names and treated as individuals produce significantly larger annual milk yields. Dr. Catherine Douglas and Dr. Peter Rowlinson questioned 516 U.K. dairy farmers on their beliefs about how farmers are able to influence the productivity, behaviour and welfare of dairy cattle. Almost half of the surveyed farmers said they called their cows by name and cows owned by these farmers were found to give 236 more litres of milk per year than those not given names. 

Better Farming - March 2009