Inside VikingGenetics: The Barns Behind Great Genetics

At VikingGenetics, the barn is more than a facility — it is where care, expertise, and attention lay the foundation for high-quality genetics.

The animals at VikingGenetics are housed in facilities designed to support their well-being, daily routines, and long-term performance. The barn environment plays a crucial role in ensuring calm handling, good health, and predictable conditions — all essential factors when working with breeding animals at the highest level.

By keeping animals in a controlled and well-managed setting, we create the stability needed for both animal welfare and production reliability. This allows our teams to work closely with the animals every day and to monitor health, behaviour, and development as part of normal operations.

VikingHolstein bull jumping - semen production

Structured production with quality in every step

Our production processes follow clearly defined workflows. Whether working with semen or embryos, each stage is planned, monitored, and quality-checked according to established procedures. This structured approach helps ensure uniformity, safety, and reliability across production — not as a one-time effort, but as part of everyday operations.

Technology and professional expertise support these workflows, but they are always combined with human oversight. Skilled technicians, veterinarians, and specialists work together to ensure that each step meets our standards before moving on to the next.

Here, genetic potential is nurtured daily — shaped by expert care, disciplined routines, and a culture of excellence. The barns are not just buildings; they are the cornerstone of our commitment to quality, driving genetic progress and advancing the future of breeding. It is where science meets daily practice, and where every detail of care contributes to the animals’ well-being and the success of breeding programs worldwide.

VikingEmbryo program: accelerating genetic progress

The VikingEmbryo program maximises genetic progress by producing high-quality embryos from genomically tested heifers. By using young heifers and rapidly transferring embryos to recipient herds, the program shortens generation intervals and accelerates the genetic progress.

Today, approximately 75% of VikingGenetics bulls originate from the VikingEmbryo program. Embryo production occurs across Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, using traditional flushing or ovum pick-up with in vitro production. Finland has decades of experience with IVP, recently upgrading its facilities in 2023 and new facilities near HQ in Denmark being constructed during 2026.

Across all countries, the aim is to transfer embryos fresh to recipient herds whenever possible, ensuring high success rates and rapid genetic improvement.

From genomic-tested heifers to high‑impact bulls, VikingEmbryo drives the future of genetics.

Explore our breeding expertise

VikingEmbryo production - lab technician working with embryos under microscope

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In this video, VikingGenetics breeding expert Johanna Aro and Export Manager Seppo Niskanen explain how embryo technology plays a key role in developing world-class genetics for modern dairy farming.

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