“A dairy farmer has supplied his herd with waterbeds to encourage them to produce better quality milk. Cows at Brue Valley Farms, in Glastonbury, Somerset, are also treated to classical music in the milking shed. The cattle can spend up to 18 hours a day lounging on their specially-designed rubber beds, which are cleaned and filled with 50 litres of fresh water every day.
Bosses at the farm, which has been producing Farmhouse Cheddar for half a century, say their unusual methods have helped to produce a better quality product.
Robert Clapp, Director of Herds, said: “In order to make the best possible cheese you need to be completely ‘cow centric.’ “It’s not about what is best for the farmer, but about what is best for the cow. “Our herds enjoy top quality treatment and in return they create delicious, creamy milk that goes into producing the best quality Farmhouse Cheddar.” The 35-year-old added: “We treat our cows as individuals and care for every aspect of their lives including socialising and comfort as well as obvious needs such as food and health care.”
To celebrate fifty years of cheesemaking, the team at Brue Valley Farms has developed an extra-mature Farmhouse Cheddar. The new recipe will be sold exclusively in Marks and Spencer’s supermarkets.”
Read more at The Telegraph
If they added central heating, I’d be in there like a shot!
And Thas how it should be…Mooo
Waterbeds and classical music? I don’t understand how that is supposed to help. How about we stop taking milk from cows? I’m sure they’d be a lot happier then.
50 L of water per cow water bed per day? Why do you need to change it anyway? Fill it once, seal, and be done with it.
I have actually heard of this before somewhere. Apparently if the cows are in the best comfort possible then they produce better milk.
LC x
And where is the picture to go with this story. I mean .. you sure would add one from a few cows on their rubbers beds .. wouldn’t you? Music is not new .. but rubber water beds .. hm .. I have trouble picturing that .. as well as I have trouble seeing the cows really enjoying that. Being outside would already ahve been a huge improvement for lots of cows who are doomed to stay in one of those huge stables all their life.
I once saw caws do ‘bumb’ in a swimming pool .. might have been an add though ..
And what about those cows on beer? Yum yum.
I absolutely love this story! It’s true that the better you take care of animals, the happier they are. I guess cows like waterbeds. I wonder if they were scared of them at first. I’d like to see a picture of a cow getting on and off of a waterbed. What a great way to get better milk!