The April 2026 genetic evaluation confirms the Norwegian Red breed’s continued advancement in sustainable dairy breeding. This release highlights clear progress in polled genetics, which remains a key focus for the breed and an increasing priority worldwide. Of the newly released bulls, nine out of ten are PP (homozygous polled), representing a significant step forward in both availability and genetic quality.
For the first time, the top-ranking bulls in the evaluation are themselves PP, proving that selection for polled no longer requires any trade‑off in overall genetic merit.
Genetic progress across core traits remains strong, supported by the robustness of the Norwegian Red breeding program. The high reliability of breeding values continues to be validated as newly daughter‑proven bulls consistently confirm their genomic predictions, reinforcing confidence in selection decisions and the long-term direction of the population.
Altogether, the April 2026 results highlight a breed that is not only advancing genetically, but also setting new standards for welfare-oriented, sustainable dairy breeding. With leading PP bulls at the very top of the list and genomic selection performing with exceptional accuracy, Norwegian Red continues to demonstrate why it is globally recognized for reliability, innovation, and long-term genetic strength.
Ten New Norwegian Red Sires Launched Globally
12491 NR HORNE-PP - is a homozygous polled sire with excellent milk production and positive % combined with great daughter fertility and udder health. Shallow udders with strong attachments and desired teat length. His daughters will also have very healthy claws. A2A2 and K casein AB.
12503 NR GRUDE-PP - is a homozygous polled sire with balanced milk production and with top breeding values for health traits & fertility. Excellent milking speed, very positive longevity, very good udders and F&L conformation. Fits well herds with robotic milking systems. Daughters will be short in stature and very robust. A2A2 & K casein BB.
12493 NR TVERAAEN-PP - is a homozygous polled sire with great milk solids production driven by both yields and %. Fantastic udder health and daughter fertility, very easy calving. Very positive longevity, great udders and F&L with strong claw health. Medium size cows. A2A2.
12489 NR EINREM-PP - is a homozygous polled sire that breeds cows with very low maintenance and short stature. Milk yield and % are both above breed average. Very easy calving, excellent claw health, great udders with strong attachments and ligament. A2A2.
12479 NR EIDEM-PP - is a homozygous polled sire which also breeds cows with very low maintenance and low stature. Balanced milk production with positive yields and %. Very good daughter fertility, great milking speed, very good udder conformation. A2A2.
12467 NR AAKER-PP-ET - is a homozygous polled sire with very high milk, protein and fat yields. Easy calving, very good F&L conformation and strong claw health. A2A2.
12473 NR SIMSO-PP-ET - is a homozygous polled sire that combines very high milk and milk solids yields with strong health and functional traits. Great udder conformation. K casein AB.
12464 NR TYNES-ET - Impressive milk solids production with both high milk yield and %. Excellent daughter fertility, very good udders. Daughters will be medium size with a lot of strength. A2A2.
12492 NR VIGDAL-PP - is a homozygous polled sire with high protein & fat Kgs. Very positive daughter fertility, low somatic cell count and very easy calving. Low maintenance and short stature daughters. A2A2.
12481 NR MIDOY-PP - is a homozygous polled sire that offers a strong combination of high milk solids production, high fertility and great health traits. Great udders and very positive BV for longevity. A2A2.
Top Norwegian Red sires globally available
12431 NR HORJEM-PP - exceptional top ranked all-around homozygous polled sire with very positive milk % and superior daughter fertility and health traits. Medium size cows with strength, great udders and F&L conformation. Horjem-PP is sired by 12265 NR Smenes-P, currently the greatest Norwegian Red sire of all time for milk Kg. A2A2.
12425 NR ISFJORDEN – fantastic combination of high fat & protein Kgs and low maintenance. Isfjorden is an extremely feed efficient sire. Breeds cows with high production, superb udders and feet & legs. A2A2 and K casein AB.
12391 NR LAUPEN-PP - Laupen-PP has a great trait profile for herds looking for high components, very good udder conformation and very good feet and legs. Laupen-PP is especially high for fat percentage and fat yield. He is very good for calving ease, so he is an excellent choice for maiden heifers. He will also moderate cow size, making him an excellent all-around sire for herds that desire moderate cow stature and overall cow size. He is homozygous polled, A2A2.
12432 NR TANGVOLLEN-P - Tangvollen-P is an excellent all-around sire with high milk yield and outstanding milk %, providing excellent total milk solids production. His daughters are expected to have much dairy type and great feed efficiency. He’s very good for daughter fertility, and extremely good for udder health. Tangvollen-P can be used on maiden heifers and he is also a short gestation sire. His daughters will have great udder conformation, with long teats, and very good feet and legs. Tangvollen-P will reduce or moderate daughter size. A2A2.
12222 NR SKOIEN – daughter proven with 1.300 recorded daughters in his evaluation. He has become one of the most popular and exciting sires ever released by Geno. He ranks extremely high on almost any index that might be used to choose sires for modern herds. Skoien is a tremendous all-around sire with extraordinary fat and protein production. His daughters have outstanding udder conformation and excellent udder health. They also have very good feet and legs and hoof health. A2A2.
12297 NR MURI-P - Muri-P is an outstanding sire for herds that manage high production. He has already been used in many herds, and his popularity continues to increase. Muri-P will sire good udder conformation, good feet and legs (with very good claw health) and excellent udder health. A2A2.
Looking ahead
Norwegian Red will take another major step forward with the release of its first version of the feed efficiency index and methane index which is planned to be available in the second half of 2026. These groundbreaking tools are built on more than three years of intensive data collection, capturing over one million individual cow records. This marks a significant leap toward even more efficient milk production, sustainable and climate‑smart breeding—delivering genetics that optimize efficiency while reducing environmental impact.
The next official genetic evaluations will be available August 11, 2026
