Norwegian Red genetics continue to grow market share

Geno, Norway’s cattle genetics cooperative, has reported record global sales for the third year running. Figures for its Norwegian Red dairy cattle semen show sales in 2016 of 471,000 straws, 3.5% higher than in 2015 and 41% higher than its closest rival.

“We have achieved an increase in market share in the past 12 months,” says Geno CEO Sverre Bjørnstad. “Despite challenging conditions in many dairy producing countries, Geno sales have bucked the trend and grown sales, when other competing genetics companies have reported a shortfall.”

Geno’s Norwegian Red genetics are now available in 30 markets worldwide. Bestselling sires were Braut son Gopollen, a solid all-round sire with exceptional fertility and legs, Skjelvan, who offers a combination of high milk production and milk constituents along with good calving ease and a low incidence of stillbirths, and the polled bull Nymoen who is a popular calving ease and claw health sire with good fertility and health traits.

“In the past 12 months Geno has moved to 100% genomic selection using our HD Genomics breeding program,” adds Mr Bjørnstad. “Out of a population of 100,000 bull calves each year we select 3,000 for genotyping, combining the genotype and phenotype information in one step to select the best bulls for our program.

“We can therefore speed up the generation interval and offer farmers even more advanced genetics, specializing particularly in the overall balance of production with superior health and fertility characteristics. These traits play a major part in contributing to the improved longevity of Norwegian Red genetics in dairy herds across the world. Good production combined with health, fertility and longevity are the key factors contributing to the breed’s increasing popularity globally. We have ambitious targets to expand our markets much further.”