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A dairy farm has come up with a new form of farming technology - putting QR codes on to cows.
The idea behind the digital bar-codes at Southfields farm in Somerby, Leicestershire, is to give consumers more information about their cows’ lives.
Passers-by can scan the QR code using an app on a smartphone and get quick access to a website which contains information about the farm’s 100-strong herd of dairy cows.
The farm is testing the idea out on their cow, Lady Shamrock, and scanners will be instantly directed to www.thisisdairyfarming.com to find out more about her.
There they can get Lady Shamrock’s opinions on her fellow cows as well as more information about milking time, favourite foods and how she is cared for by the farm team.
Lady Shamrock lives on the family-run farm where she is looked after by farmers Jane and Mark
Barnes. She worked with dairy farmers’ organisation DairyCo to trial the code, which is believed to be the first of its type.
She said: 'We run a lot of farm visits and we’re always keen to try new things to help people get close to the cows and see first-hand what dairy farming is about.
'Everyone seems to have a smartphone nowadays, so we had the idea of letting Shamrock ‘speak’ to visitors who want to find out more.
Thisisdairyfarming.com was created by dairy farmers for people to find out more about what we do, so we want to make it as easy as possible for people to find us online.'
Mrs Barnes added: 'After we had applied the code for the first time, Lady Shamrock went out into the field and the other cows couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing - they all came up to her to have a look and sniff.
'That’s why it’s important to support initiatives that help challenge those perceptions by presenting the reality in an engaging way.
We drink billions of litres of milk every year in Britain but may not necessarily reflect on all the work farmers do to make that happ
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