The Big Island cows will enjoy upgrades in their accomodations - home-grown corn, piped-in Hawaiian music and an ocean view,all aimed at putting more fresh Island milk on Hawai,i tables.

Because of increasing demand for locally produced Hawaii,s fresh milk, the barn is being built with all the new "cow comfort" features possible and an increasing emphasis on self-sustainability.

Very clear research has shown that when you have soft, soothing music - under 100 beats per minute cows produce more milk. And this holds true with classical music, ballads and quite a bit of Hawaiian music.

The cows did not care what laguage it's in, because they don't understand languages, but the soothing music boosts milk production by 3%.
Conversly, loud rock music caused milk production to drop by 3%. Their least favorite is rock, inbetween is country-western.

With the help of the Hawai'i Legislature, KTA, Meadow Gold Dairies, and the support of retailers Foodland, Whole Foods Markets, Don Quijote and Down to Earth the Hawaii dairy business will make a much needed comeback.

Text from the Honolulu Advertiser,
March 24, 2010

Thank you Inda for sharing this wonderful news.

I know that dogs love classical music, so I am not surprised that cows feel the same. It is refreshing to know that the Hawaiians take such good care, and love their animals. These cows are very fortunate to live in Hawaii.

Love,
yoko

This is a fun post.
Thank you for sharing it.
Lucky cows, and lucky Hawaiians who are rewarded with more milk in return for their kindness.

Love,
Vicky

Thank you yoko and Vicky.

The Hawaiians need to produce their own dairy products, so this is a very good thing that they are doing for their cows.

This is a picture of the actual Hawaii cows, sorry the quality is so poor.

Love,
Inda

This is so lovely.
May the Hawaiians enjoy their own dairy products.

Sincerely,
Gisele

This is really cute.

Yupppyyy for the cows

Love,
Sue

Thank you for your replies.

The cows will have a wonderful area to live in, and being looked after by kind people, providing the volcano keeps calm.

This was originally posted by Teo in another topic:

Carolyn Classen , April 17th, 2010 on 12:53 pm

Thanks Jonathan for this article. People on the Big Island of Hawaii are experiencing respiratory problems due to the continued eruptions of 2 vents at Kilauea at the HVNP. Many of the leafy vegetables & plants have had their leaves wilt & die– probably due to the vog, leading to crop damage. The vog has been reported as far away as Honolulu, on the Island of Oahu, which is over 200 miles away from the active volcano.

I found the entire article on the internet, and I am posting it here for educational purposes.

Cows' creature comforts part of Hawaii's dairy comeback


By Robbie Dingeman



A calif and its mom enjoy life on the Big Isle, where Island Dairy is working to keep the state’s dairy industry alive.

Advertiser library photo





ISLAND DAIRY

How long in business? 1989 (bought an existing dairy in Ahualoa)

Number of employees: 15 people at the 'O'ōkala dairy on the Big Island's Hāmākua Coast

Describe your business: "We basically milk cows twice a day 365 days a year."

Core strategy: "You need to dissect every piece of your business and see how you match up compared to your competitors."

Business tip: "Never give up ... the will to stay despite all the challenges and see that you are doing everything you can. We're looking at every practice that we do continually."

Big change: Expect to complete a 320-stall barn at the end of April with waterbeds, and an increasingly Hawai'i-based diet in a continuing quest to improve cow conditions and milk production.

Fun fact: The next out-of-the-ordinary improvement is a sound system to play calming music in the new barn.




Bahman Sadeghi




Those Big Island cows expecting waterbeds in their stalls will enjoy some other upgrades in accommodations — home-grown corn, piped-in Hawaiian music and an ocean view — all aimed at putting more fresh Island milk on Hawai'i tables.

That's the word from Island Dairy owner Bahman Sadeghi who was at the 'O'ōkala farm yesterday checking on construction progress for the 320-stall barn. Because of increasing demand for locally produced Hawaii's Fresh Milk, the barn is being built with all the "cow comfort" features possible and an increasing emphasis on self-sustainability.

"With the help of the Hawai'i Legislature, KTA, Meadow Gold Dairies, and the support of retailers Foodland, Whole Foods Markets, Don Quijote and Down to Earth, we are making a comeback of the Hawai'i dairy business," Sadeghi said.

He said the dairy also recently added 130 cattle, and it is making a concentrated effort to improve milk production per cow to keep the dairy industry alive in Hawai'i. The number of dairies statewide has dwindled from about 15 in 2007 to only two, both on the Big Island. As recently as 1987 there were 73 dairies statewide.

And although the amenities sound like a punchline on a late-night talk show, they are backed by research, said Dr. Scott Tripp, a Utah-based veterinarian who serves as a consultant to Island Dairy and other farms nationwide.

"The research is very clear that when you have soft soothing music — under 100 beats per minute — they have more milk," Tripp said.

And that holds true with classical music, ballads and quite a bit of Hawaiian music — including The Advertiser's on-hold selection, Tripp said.

"The cows don't care what language it's in because they don't understand English or Hawaiian," Tripp said, but the soothing music boosts milk production 3 percent.

Conversely, Tripp said loud rock music causes milk production to drop 3 percent. "Their least favorite is rock, in between is country-western," he said.

Over the past 10 years, locally produced milk was becoming especially scarce on O'ahu and Kaua'i as community dairies closed because of rising costs and competition with cheaper Mainland imports.

Tripp also has helped Sadeghi explore other Hawai'i-raised food sources for the cows. "The No. 1 cause of the demise of the dairy industry in Hawai'i is escalating feed cost," Sadeghi said.

"If we could grow sugar cane, there's no reason why we can't grow corn," he said. "We have made it our focus to become self-sustainable."

And that's a goal that resonates with more people in Hawai'i.

Sadeghi said it also makes economic sense and will help increase production as more consumers prefer fresher milk, especially if the price is comparable to imported.

He said Tripp's advice has helped the dairy become more efficient with production nearly doubling from 2,500 gallons a day a year ago to today's output of 4,750 gallons per day.

"We've known about music since the '60s," Tripp said, adding that vets know quite a lot about cow preferences. "They're very interesting animals."

Both Tripp and Sadeghi are studying other Hawai'i food sources that could include fish waste, old bread and even macadamia nuts for their fat content.

As for the new cow-tunes, those details are still being worked out, Sadeghi said. "We might put in a Bose system, you never know."