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BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Does the TikTok trend of farmers playing jazz music to cows really work?
A new sound track has started to rumble across Britain's green and pleasant pastures. Once punctuated with birdsong and the growl of a tractor's engine, parts of the country's farmland now have a slightly funkier soundtrack. A number of dairy farmers have started to play music to their cattle in a bid to improve their welfare and, possibly, the quality of their produce. The trend has gone viral on TikTok, with videos - from across the world - fetching millions of views. Charles Goadby, a dairy farmer based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, has embraced the new trend, and has told us why playing music to cows could benefit the wider public. When did the craze start? Recent success on TikTok has brought the fad to the fore. But, Mr Goadby said that he first started playing radio to his cows nearly a decade ago. "We installed a robotic milking system and there was a lot of new harsh sounds and noises, so we wanted to drown that out and give them a constant sound. "This was about 10 years ago and somebody suggested the cows like classical music - that was the trend back then - so I put a classical radio station on for the cows to listen to and it just helps them relax a little bit." While jazz music is the current flavour for the trend, Mr Goadby said he has tried a number of different genres and radio stations over the years. What about Pavlov's Dog? While Mr Goadby initially started to play his herd music to calm, it is thought that the music can help milk production farmer said the theory behind the Pavlov's Dog experiment could also mean that music makes cows physically and mentally prepared to be milked. In the famous experiment, dogs were conditioned to associate the noise of a bell with receiving food. The dogs would then salivate from the noise alone, showing they not only mentally associated the noise with food, but also physically responded to the sound. "We always have music on in the milking parlour... [and] not just for the staff to listen to," Mr Goadby said. "It's a little bit like the Pavlov dog theory, where it's waking up the senses, it starts their hormone production off, and actually the cows will release a little bit sooner and that milk flow will be a little bit quicker. "It helps relax the cows and the workers - so that's a win-win all round." What genre do cows prefer? For Mr Goadby, the music craze first started with farmers playing their bovine friends classical music. But the latest trend has seen jazz on the menu at farms across the Goadby said cows would probably respond to any kind of music. "I think if you went and stood on the edge of a field like you see on these TikTok accounts and put any music on, the cows would come across," he said"They just want to be nosy and see what's going on, and I think as long as you're not doing anything startling, they're gonna come over and want to be nosy and have a look." Another Warwickshire farmer, Rob Hadley, was unsure if the cows would respond well to other genres of music."They're very relaxed about the jazz, but probably they'd be up for anything - maybe a bit of Ozzy Osbourne," he said. "Truthfully, a bit of Ozzy Osbourne would scare the socks off them." Why has it gone big on TikTok? We all know that animal videos are a staple of the British social media scene, but one of farmers playing music to their cattle have particularly piqued interest. Mr Goadby said it may not all be because of the quirky practice. "I just think people like cows - they're great animals so anything with cows will get interest," he dairy farmer said it's great that the "tough" industry is getting so much attention. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Independent
19-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
‘My farm makes me just £50 a week - Labour's scrapping of £1bn subsidy scheme will be devastating'
Charles Goadby never wanted to rely on a penny in subsidies for his farm set within the green and pleasant lands of the north Warwickshire countryside. As a proud dairy farmer, the 47-year-old father-of-two wanted to focus 'every square inch' of his 1,400 acres on food and milk production, and once believed post-Brexit environmental subsidies threatened to turn many farners into 'subsidy junkies'. But a significant squeeze on margins and the wish to bring in cash for a robotic milking system led to a redress of the situation - and on Wednesday, he met with a farming expert to discuss an application for the government's sustainable farming incentive (SFI). Providing winter bird feed and creating of grass margins along watercourses could warrant £10,000 a year, Mr Goady estimated, and give access to capital funding for the wanted farming equipment. But last week, Labour announced that SFI, which was launched in 2022, was now fully suscribed and closed to new applications with immediate effect. Under £1bn worth of deals already agreed, farmers are paid for managing land to protect soil, restore hedgerows and boost nature recovery. 'I was gobsmacked,' said Mr Goadby, who said he now makes just £50 a week from his farming business already 'propped up' by the conversion of industrial units. He said he now lives off his wife's primary school teacher salary. 'I will impact us hugely, you take away the SFI, you take away another income while we try desperately to survive. You don't make a penny from farming anymore, it's unsustainable and so we now need the support. This is devastating.' Mr Goadby, who has around 700 cows and also grows wheat, barley and oats, said the government decision to scap SFI was another 'attack' on the farming sector, months after chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a change to inheritance tax for farmers. 'With my father aged 81, we're lookng at a succession plan, but we fear inheritance tax will destroy us,' Mr Goadby said. 'How are we going to raise £800k, and pay it over 20 years - we're going to have sell up land to survive which will make us less viable.' In his community, Mr Goadby said two farmers had killed themselves over the past two years. 'There will be more from this [scrapping of SFI],' he added. Food security minister Daniel Zeichner told the Commons last week that the government planned to 'redesign' the SFI programme. The scheme was the largest part of new environmental land management (Elms) project which replaced EU-era farming subsidies. Also impacted is Northamptonshire farmer Ben Aveling, who had already seeded 20 acres of 'low input' grassland for yet-to-be submitted application for cash under the SFI programme. The land, Mr Aveling said, could have been used for growing wheat, raising £16,000. The 39-year-old father-of-three has already heavily diversified his 250-acre farm. Three years ago he set up clamping and has created an online farm shop. He said: 'Farming has become less profitable, and so we have focused on other ways to make money such as through environment schemes - but to now hear it has been closed off despite our work is bitterly disappointing. 'It feels like an absolute onslaught on farming with another thing taken away from us as we struggle to survive. Labour is putting food security at risk, and that places at risk our job to feed the nation.' Last week, farmers gathered by the Houses of Parliament to protest over the scrapping of the scheme, as well as the changes to inheritance tax. The rise in anger in the farming community has also put many newly-elected rural Labour MPs in a difficult position. Around 40 have reportedly joined a 'rural growth group', sending a letter to Ms Reeves on their concerns over the inheritance levy. In November, Labour peer Baroness Ann Mallalieu warned the party faced a wipeout of rural MPs at the next election. On Tuesday, farmers met Mr Zeichner to discuss their concerns over the scrapping of SFI in a meeting organised by the National Farmers' Union (NFU). President Tom Bradshaw said: 'We made it clear to the minister that this decision not only threatens the livelihoods of numerous farmers, especially upland farmers, commoners and tenants, but also undermines the ability of farm businesses to deliver environmental work.' Sarah Lee, director of policy at the Countryside Alliance, told The Independent: 'Farmers are being asked to navigate an increasingly unerctain landscape, from concerns about the farm tax to broader economic pressures, while continuing to produce high-quality food and tackling biodiversity decline and climate change. 'This decision comes at a time when confidence in the farming sector is already fragile. Closing to applications without immediate clarity on what comes next risks exacerbating uncertainty.'
