"VikingGenetics cows simply do a better job"

“Economics.” That is the brief initial response you get when you ask Jacobsen why he uses VikingGenetics. In 2017, he bought a business with around 400 cows, and they were a good looking herd. Even though Jacobsen is 1.86m tall, he couldn’t see over the top of some of the cows. There was a big variation in production; some of the 1st calf heifers produced 40-50 kg of milk, while others almost nothing. The pregnancy rate was low, and finally Jacobsen decided to replace two thirds of the herd with four other herds and at the same time expand the business to 680 cows. He exported the animals he could replace, and sent the others to slaughter, to create space for the new cows that had all come from businesses that had used VikingGenetics. Then he got a surprise:
 
“The pregnancy rate is 15% higher in Viking cows, the productivity of first calf heifers is two kg higher, and the Viking cows have a mortality rate of 3.5%. The rate was 10% in the original herd, and it is worth noting that is with the same feed and care,” Jacobsen says and concludes:“VikingGenetics cows simply do a better job”
 
He now realises how big an effect different breeding strategies can have. The livestock he took over, were good looking, healthy and with good limbs, but the focus had been on appearance, and in this case, at the expense of other parameters.