The Effect of Music on Organic Dairy Cattle Milk Performance

Author : Degola L, Aplocina E

Abstract :The aim of studies was to investigate the effect of classical and popular pop music on the milk productivity of dairy cows. The research was conducted on a Latvian 3 commercial organic dairy farms (A, B, C). The all cows selected for study were in 140 till 160 lactation day with similar weight and physiological condition. The selected 27 music pieces played inside barns from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a total of 14 days, and 13 days period cows stayed without music. The experiment started with data collection for 6 days without music, followed by a 1day habituation period when the cows were exposed to music without any milk collection and continued with data collection for 7 days with music. After 15 days, the experiment was repeated again and lasted a total of 30 days. Data on daily milk yield were recorded. At cow level, mean values without and with music were calculated and analyzed by t-tests. The results show that in barn A daily cow milk yield significantly differed (P<0.001) between research periods. In music period data were 19.4±0.41 kg, and in period without music15.4±0.34 kg. In farm B the results were without significant differences. Daily milk yield was 22.1±1.81 kg and 21.5±0.39 kg. In farm C, there were significantly differences (P<0.05) in milk yield (19.5±1.01 kg and 16.6±1.11 kg), fat and protein content between the research periods. In conclusion, apparently, different breeds of cows react differently to music played on farms

Keywords :Dairy cow, music, milk yield, organic farming.

Conference Name :International Conference on Agriculture, Veterinary and Life Sciences (ICAVLS-25)

Conference Place Malaga, Spain

Conference Date 15th May 2025