Proper cow-handling is key to good management, cow comfort and profitability. Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist Jennifer Van Os with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Animal and Dairy Sciences Department has developed a video game to help with training in farm animal handling.
“As a new state Extension specialist in 2018 I met with many dairy owners during farm visits or at industry and producer meetings,” Van Os says. “When I asked about their needs relating to animal welfare, the most common request I received was to come onsite to train personnel such as milkers on appropriate cow-handling techniques. Literature has shown that serious games produce better learning and retention than other education methods, so I decided to give it a try.”
The game, dubbed “Mooving Cows,” was developed with feedback from Wisconsin dairy farmers and Spanish and English-speaking staff on farms, to provide an alternative to traditional animal-handling training resources. It includes eight levels, where players take on the role of a dairy farm worker performing routine animal movements.
Van Os says the concept of using video games to improve animal-handling skills could be adapted to other livestock sectors in the future and hopes to expand to tackle other challenging cow-handling activities in the future.
For more: Video game teaches proper cow-handling skills – Animal & Dairy Sciences (wisc.edu)