If you happen to drive past the Connell’s dairy farm in northern NSW, you might notice something rather unexpected going on.
You see, the cows like to play soccer with a giant blue ball.
Yes, you heard right. Cows.Playing.Soccer!
It’s all part Cow’s Play, an initiative launched by dairy producer Norco, to not only educate kids about the origins of milk, but also follows the idea that happy cows make better milk.
Cow’s Play takes Norco into the augmented reality universe, using online games to educate kids on where their milk comes from and the important role animal wellbeing and enrichment has in producing great tasting milk.
Research reveals one in four Australian children, aged five to 12, think their food originates from a supermarket shelf. The Cow’s Play game aims change that perception by encouraging kids to look after Norco’s virtual cows – Elle and Belle – through different forms of enrichment while delivering fun and engaging dairy facts.
A dairy category first, the augmented reality game can only be played by scanning the QR code on specially marked Norco labels on their two and three litre Full Cream and Lite milks, and two litre Lactose Free Full Cream milk between August and November.
How Cow’s Play helps Elle and Belle
Following research from University of New England, presented by PhD student Emily Dickson at the Dairy Research Foundation Symposium last November, dairy farmers have become increasingly curious about how to provide enrichment to promote better welfare for their herds.
Ms Dickson said improving animal welfare through environmental enrichment is increasing but fundamental research to quantify the benefits and impact needs to be improved.
Norco dairy farmers Scott and Renae Connell are contributing to the research by bringing the AR game to life on their farm.
The Connell’s are actively monitoring the positive impacts of ball playtime on their herds, a precursor to any further research studies on cow enrichment undertaken in Australia.
Norco’s General Manager Commercial and Strategy, Ben Menzies said Norco is continually striving to ensure that the dairy co-operative remains at the forefront of dairy industry innovation.
“We have a highlighted focus on technology and product innovation, whilst supporting important dairy industry initiatives and driving consumer interest and demand,” Ben said.
“Our community of 280 dairy farmers have been raising the healthiest and happiest herds since 1895, and our farmers know that being at the forefront of animal enrichment is key to producing the tastiest, most nutritious milk.
“We felt utilising technology in the form of augmented reality gamification to educate our youngest consumers on where their food comes from, was a way of creating and sharing educational content in a fun and contemporary way.
“As the number of dairy farms continue to decline in Australia, we believe this platform enables our next generation of consumers to feel connected to where their food comes from, and more importantly connected to the hard-working Australian dairy farmers that play an integral role in nourishing Australian families every day,” Mr Menzies concludes.
Designed to get more family households buying Norco milk, the Cow’s Play Augmented Reality game was launched at Queensland’s EKKA and is now rolling out on labels into supermarkets.
