The Norwegian Red complements many other dairy breeds and works well in almost any management system.
Why should you consider crossbreeding with Norwegian Red?
Increase fertility
- Achieve the fastest possible improvement for fertility in each generation
- World-leading – an average of 1.4 inseminations per pregnancy for all cows population
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US crossbred daughters of top Norwegian Red sires average 21 fewer days open than pure Holsteins (Dec 2020).
Improve your herd's health faster
- Norwegian Red bred since 1978 for resistance to mastitis, ketosis, retained placenta, milk fever, etc.
- Comprehensive Claw Health Index
- Calf survival and health
Lower your production costs
- Feed$aved (new in 2021) expect Norwegian Red x Holstein daughters to eat on average 1.4 lbs less dry matter per day. Daughters of top bulls for Feed$aved eat 2.3 lbs less per day than average pure Holsteins
- Higher net profit from better fertility, fewer diseases, and thus better longevity.
Crossbreeding programs with Norwegian Red
The Norwegian Red is a key profit-generating component of a 2-way or 3-way cross in a well-designed crossbreeding system. In addition to the Norwegian Red, each crossbreeding system must include the breed or breeds that work in the facilities, climate, milk market, nutritional regime, and management level.
How to buy Norwegian Red
Norwegian Red is sold exclusively by our distributor network across the world. To maximize the effects crossbreeding can have on your herd, our genetic advisors and sales representatives are dedicated to finding tailor-made solutions based on your needs.
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Frequently asked questions
Is it true that the Norwegian Red sire proofs in other countries are on the Ayrshire base or Red Dairy Cattle base instead of the Holstein base?
Yes, this is true. The genetic values or proofs for the Norwegian Red sires are expressed within each country on the Ayrshire or Red Dairy Cattle base for the local or importing country.
I want to start distributing in my market, how do I start?
If you want to start distributing Norwegian Red genetics in your market, please get in touch with us.
Why are some of the Norwegian Red bulls black and white rather than red and white?
The Norwegian Red breed carries the black gene at a low frequency. The black versus red color does not have an important economic impact within Norway, so the black gene has remained in the Norwegian Red population since the merger of the local breeds to form the modern Norwegian Red breed in the 1940s. Some of the local breeds had the black gene and contributed it to the Norwegian Red population. The black gene is dominant to the red gene much like the situation with Holsteins. Producers using Norwegian Red for crossbreeding outside of Norway have the option of using either red or black sires if color is important to them.
