Teat Tweets: Cows join Twitterverse

In today’s technologically advanced culture, it’s no surprise that technology is appearing in full force on dairy farms. Just a few decades ago, the idea of robotic milkers and computerized feeding systems was unbelievable. So, who would have thought that in 2010 cows could have their very own Twitter account? Well, a herd of Canadian Holsteins are, in fact, tweeting daily. Yep, you read that correctly — cows are now tweeting.

The farm, located just southwest of Toronto, has a robotic milker in place that allows cows to be milked multiple times a day – on their own schedule. The cows are equipped with their own neck collars that are read every time they come in contact with the robotic milker, telling the farm manager how much milk they are giving, as well as how often they have been milked that day.  This is a normal procedure for robotic milking setups, but the unique thing about this farm is that every time the robot reads a cow’s neck collar, the cows tweet on their own Twitter accounts!

The project was launched in December 2009 by the University of Waterloo in Canada. The tweets are a reflection of typical daily occurrences on a dairy farm, but in an entertaining way to help educate consumers through social media on the technical and day-to-day events on a dairy farm. 

The most popular of the Tweeters is @AttnPlease. She has 70 followers and posts tweets such as, “9.2 kg of frothy deliciousness for the humans,” and “It took me 5:35 secs to give 11.4 kgs. Feel good.”

Tweeting cows are certainly a light hearted example of how technology has infiltrated the dairy industry. Agriculturists everywhere depend on technological advances to help supply consumers with a safe, plentiful food supply. During National Ag Week, it’s great to see a herd of Canadian Holsteins demonstrating not only the importance of the ag industry, but also the hard work, passion and dedication of agriculturists worldwide. And, for that, we say, “Keep tweeting, ladies.”