Turkey Farmer Makes His Cow Wear VR Goggles To Increase Milk Production (Photos)

In an attempt to increase the daily milk yield of his cows, a farmer in Turkey is experimenting with virtual reality goggles that make the bovines think they are in the middle of a green pasture in summer. İzzet Koçak’s family has been rearing cattle on a farm in Aksaray, Turkey for three generations, and the business has endured for so long because they have always tried to keep up with the times.

Now it’s Izzet’s turn to make sure the family business does well enough to be passed on to the next generation, and he is going all-in on unconventional solutions. After experimenting with soothing music designed to relax the cows, the Turkish farmer is now experimenting with special VR goggles that allegedly make the animals believe that they are grazing in a sunny pasture, instead of a gloomy indoor farm in the middle of winter.

“We get an average of 22 liters of milk daily from our cows,” Koçak told the Anadolu News Agency. “We had 2 of our cows wear virtual reality glasses and watch a vast green pasture all day, and the daily milk production increased up to 27 liters. These glasses are emotionally good for the animals, we noticed that the animals are less stressed. This was reflected both in the milk yield and in the quality of milk.”

The Turkish farmer said that he was inspired by a news article about cows wearing virtual reality goggles on a farm in Russia. He was intrigued about the idea, so he contacted the company making the special bovine goggles and ordered a couple of pairs. Now that he has seen the effect of VR technology he plans to order another 10, and if the milk production rate increases in the same way, he wants to get headsets for all his 180 cows.

“VR was first tried by a business in Russia, we saw this by chance on social media,” İzzet Koçak said. “We decided to try it, too. For now, we put it on 2 of our cows and observed the increase in milk production. We are currently in the first trial phase, for the second trial stage we have ordered 10 more virtual reality glasses. If we are successful with them, we will order goggles for our entire herd.”

Koçak said that he also continues to play music to the cows to make them more relaxed. He monitors their mood and behavior with the help of a tracking system that receives data from a chip attached to the cows’ ankles and claims that the music also makes a big difference.