Nordic cattle data for healthier, more productive herds

In the Nordic countries, data isn’t just numbers — it’s a powerful, trusted tool built on decades of precise, on-farm recording. Our unique system captures detailed records from thousands of commercial herds, giving farmers reliable insights to improve their cows’ wellbeing and secure their farm’s future. This data is collected from active farms across varied breeds, production systems, and management practices.

At VikingGenetics, we use this unique data to create world-leading breeding values, providing farmers with the clarity and confidence to breed cows that perform today and drive future success.

Built by farmers, for farmers

Our cooperative is owned by dairy and beef farmers who contribute to and benefit from the system. This makes our database not just a scientific resource, but a living proof of actual herds, in genuine farm environments.

Breeding values are calculated by NAV (Nordic Cattle Genetic Evaluation), ensuring objectivity and reliability. When we test a cow’s DNA, certified labs and advanced technology scan thousands of genetic markers. These results are compared to a large reference group of animals — ensuring that predictions are grounded in real-world performance.

We collaborate with leading universities and research partners to keep advancing the data collection system. At VikingGenetics, trust is built on three pillars: farmer ownership, proven science, and relentless innovation — generating value for your farm.

Complete, reliable, and real-time data

The foundation of the Nordic registration system’s strength starts with uniquely identifying each animal. Every cow receives a unique ID that tracks her entire life cycle — from birth through all lactations to slaughter. This lifelong tracking is vital for compiling accurate health and production records, ensuring no critical event is overlooked. Unlike partial or sample-based data, the Nordic data collection system captures a full timeline, allowing farmers to analyse trends, disease patterns, and productivity with confidence.

The data is collected in real-time by trained professionals, including veterinarians, hoof trimmers, and artificial insemination (AI) technicians. Clinical diseases—over 100 distinct conditions — are recorded directly by experts.

Farmers benefit from reliable, ongoing insight into their herd’s performance without added workload or complexity.

What sets our database apart is its integrity. Thousands of farmers contribute data every month, creating a creating a publicly regulated, farmer-owned dataset that is among the most complete of its kind. Unlike scattered or private datasets, our breeding values are based on reliable data.

The richness of this continuous, expert-validated data means that farmers can identify emerging issues quickly and respond with targeted interventions. Furthermore, the system’s flexibility ensures it fits various farm sizes and practices — from small family operations to large-scale commercial herds — making it a truly versatile tool for the dairy industry worldwide.

One centralised database

The Nordic data system brings all relevant information into one centralised, accessible database. This single repository collects data from veterinarians, hoof trimmers, AI technicians, farmers, milk recording systems, automatic milking systems (AMS), classifiers, and slaughterhouses. By integrating such diverse sources, the system creates a full, multi-dimensional picture of herd performance.

This centralization simplifies data management and improves collaboration. Everyone involved in herd care and management works from the same accurate, up-to-date information. This shared access reduces errors, prevents conflicting records, and supports cohesive decision-making.

A remarkable 90% of cows contribute with data in this system. This near-universal adoption among the Nordic farmers is a testament to the system’s credibility and utility. The extensive dataset allows for benchmarking and comparisons across farms, helping farmers identify strengths and areas for improvement based on real-world data.

Ultimately, this unified approach to data empowers farmers with a complete and coherent view of herd performance and genetic level, enabling smarter, more informed decisions that boost productivity and sustainability.

Sophisticated collaboration ensures data accuracy

The accuracy of the Nordic system hinge on the sophisticated collaboration between multiple professionals who collect and verify data. Unlike systems relying solely on indirect proxies, Nordic data reflects direct clinical observations recorded by trained veterinarians and hoof trimmers.

Veterinarians rigorously log every treatment administered under strict regulatory guidelines. These stringent veterinary rules ensure that all clinical cases and interventions are thoroughly documented and verified, guaranteeing data consistency and quality.

Hoof trimmers contribute detailed, expert records on hoof disorders — an essential but often underreported aspect of dairy cow health. This expert input provides a critical layer of information that helps farmers understand and manage hoof-related issues more effectively.

Farmers, AI technicians, classifiers, and automated systems add valuable data points, creating a holistic dataset that captures the herd’s performance from multiple angles.

Moreover, standardised training and quality control protocols maintain uniform data entry and diagnosis procedures across the board. This consistency is crucial for ensuring that data from different farms and regions is comparable and trustworthy.

The collaborative effort among professionals, combined with a focus on precise and direct registrations, builds a system that farmers worldwide can rely on.

We have a comprehensive breeding programme in which everything we do is based on calculations, simulations and optimisation. This scientific approach to designing our breeding programme is, as far as I am aware, unique.

Lars Nielsen ,
Chief Breeding Officer

TOP 10 PROVEN BENEFITS OF NORDIC CATTLE DATA

1. Unique cow ID — Tracks each animal from birth to slaughter, across the whole lactation and lifetime

2. One central database — Data collected by veterinarians, hoof trimmers, AI technicians, farmers, classifiers, AMS systems, milk recording & slaughterhouses, all collated in one place

3. 50+ years of experience — Decades of data collection

4. Over 100 diseases registered — Health data recorded by trained professionals

5. Strict veterinary rules — All treatments logged and verified

6. Data from commercial herds — Collected across thousands of real farms with varied breeds, production systems, and management levels

7. Over 90% cows in the registration system — Large-scale, consistent data on production, health, reproduction, and survival from almost all Nordic farms.

8. Reflects real farm conditions — Data collection does not disturb cows’ natural behaviour or daily routines on the farm

9. Direct selection — Enables more reliable breeding values calculated based on registrations of actual disease cases, direct measurements of cows’ feed intake, and methane concentration, among others.

10. Focused on what matters — We register exactly the traits we want to improve, not just correlated traits — giving faster more effective results

Data that drives superior breeding values

The strength of the Nordic data system lies in its ability to deliver highly reliable breeding values that drive real genetic progress. By registering diseases directly — rather than relying on indirect indicators like somatic cell count or conformation scores — it provides high-quality data for key traits such as Udder health, Hoof health, and General health.

Since the data are based on actual disease records, the resulting breeding values provide an accurate picture of health status and genetic resistance. This gives farmers clear, actionable insights when breeding cows that will strengthen herd performance.

Building on this strong data foundation, Nordic researchers have also pioneered new ways to measure and improve traits related to climate impact and efficiency. The Nordic Methane Index is based on pioneering work in genetic research into methane production. Nordic scientists were among the first to measure cattle emissions and link them to genetics, collecting direct measurements methane concentration from individual cows using advanced methane sniffer technology.

This same commitment to high‑quality data drives VikingGenetics’ work on feed efficiency. VikingGenetics’ Cattle Feed Intake System (CFIT) captures live, daily feed intake and weight data from every cow in the herd throughout all her lactations.

This continuous, whole-herd monitoring provides true lifetime insight and forms the foundation of the Saved Feed Index — a reliable tool that helps you breed cows that are more feed-efficient and climate-friendly. In addition, VikingGenetics’ feed efficiency data stands out because it comes from cows genetically close to today’s reference animals — not performance records from years ago.

Cattle Feed Intake System collecting feed intake data on VikingHolstein cows

Turning data into healthier, more efficient herds

This approach accelerates genetic progress because it focuses specifically on the traits that matter, rather than correlated or proxy traits. As a result, farmers achieve faster and more effective improvements.

Built on more than 50 years of Nordic experience in cattle data recording, this system combines farmer engagement, scientific accuracy, and transparency. The volume and diversity of data enable continuous improvement of breeding programs and herd management tools. It’s a proven model of how accurate, direct data can support profitable dairy farming.

For farmers worldwide, this system demonstrates the value of large-scale, high-quality data integration and provides a clear pathway to better breeding decisions. By using breeding values derived from robust datasets, farmers globally can achieve better herd genetics, healthier animals, and more efficient production systems. The tools and insights generated from such high-quality data support smarter breeding and herd management decisions, regardless of location.

Ultimately, the Nordic data system delivers not only trustworthy insights but also tangible benefits for farmers worldwide — enabling healthier, more efficient cows, stronger herds, and a more profitable dairy future.

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