Improve the production of milk and solids in your dairy cows

Are you looking to improve the production level of milk and solids in your dairy herd? VikingGenetics' breeding programmes for all breeds emphasise improving production without compromising the cow’s health and reproduction performance.

Production for a dairy cow is one of its most important traits, if not the most important. Without the capability to produce a sufficient amount of milk, the cow is not supporting a sustainable and profitable dairy business.

That is why the Production index has the highest weighting in the Nordic Total Merit index (NTM) and corresponds to 32%, 34% and 33% for VikingHolstein, VikingRed and VikingJersey respectively.

The Production index is based on reliable data, with 95% of commercial dairy herds in Denmark, Sweden and Finland recording milk production.

Emphasis on improving solids production

The overall breeding value for production is a combination of three components:

kg of milk
kg of fat
kg protein

The formula used for calculating the Production index is slightly different for VikingJersey than for VikingRed and VikingHolstein.

However, a common factor in the Production index for the three dairy breeds from VikingGenetics is the negative weight for kilograms of milk.

VikingHolstein: Milk x (-0.25) + Fat x (0.55) + Protein x (0.70)
VikingRed: Milk x (-0.25) + Fat x (0.55) + Protein x (0.70)
VikingJersey: Milk x (-0.30) + Fat x (0.65) + Protein x (0.65)

Why do we have a negative weight for kilograms of milk? There are two reasons:

To minimise the effects of the negative correlation between milk volume and health, fertility, longevity, udder conformation and other traits.
To achieve greater genetic progress for the production of solids. Milk pricing in most dairy companies in the Nordic countries is based on kg of fat and kg of protein, with a price deduction on milk volume.

Choosing the right bull

Here you can see the figures for average production over 305 days (average of the first three lactations) for kilograms of milk, fat and protein. The breed population averages are equal to the values of a bull with EBV 100.

You can also see how much you can improve the production of milk and solids by using a bull with a breeding value (EBV) of 110 and 120 for kg milk, kg fat and kg protein sub-indices in the Production index, compared to a bull with EBV 100.

	Kg milk			Kg fat			Kg protein
	EBV 100	EBV 110	EBV 120	EBV 100	EBV 110	EBV 120	EBV 100	EBV 110	EBV 120
VikingHolstein	11,335	+328	+656	458	+12.5	+25	392	+10	+20
VikingRed	9,837	+350	+700	431	+13.5	+27	353	+11	+21
VikingJersey	7,565	+286	+573	452	+10.5	+21	322	+9	+17

Get higher payment for producing more concentrated milk

Rely on NTM and the Production index to breed cows that produce a high level of fat and protein. By choosing VikingGenetics bulls you can improve the performance of your dairy herd.

The genetic progress achieved from 2002 to 2021 for the Production index and the corresponding amount of kg milk ECM (energy corrected milk):

VikingHolstein: 38 index units (+781 kg milk ECM)
VikingRed: 28 index units (+665 kg milk ECM)
VikingJersey: 34 index units (+665 kg milk ECM)

Here you can see the genetic progress that has been achieved from 2002-2021 for the sub-traits in the Production index shown in index units and the corresponding amount of kg milk, fat and protein.

	Milk		Fat		Protein
	Index units	Kg	Index units	Kg	Index units	Kg
VikingHolstein	+6	+190 kg	+33	+41 kg	+30	+30 kg
VikingRed	+8	+262 kg	+25	+33 kg	+24	+25 kg
VikingJersey	+14	+387 kg	+30	+31 kg	+29	+25 kg

Benefit from a wide selection of A2A2 sires

Consider using sires with the desirable Beta casein status. This can help you generate extra income through diversification of your dairy business if you choose to specialise in producing A2A2 milk.

The majority of bulls in VikingGenetics' bull lineup are A2A2 sires, including the top-ranking bulls.

	A2A2 sires, %
VikingHolstein	77%
VikingRed	73%
VikingJersey	90%

Find the best bulls

Achieve high production of milk and solids

Emphasis on improving solids production

Choosing the right bull

Get higher payment for producing more concentrated milk

Benefit from a wide selection of A2A2 sires

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