farm-breeding-lallukka-16.html
VikingNews UK 03 2017
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17 december 2017 | vikingnews
lallukka
farm ?
cows
: 70 ? open barn with one milking robot, built 2010 ? production average 9,400 kg ? fat 4.4% ? protein 3.6% when it comes to
breeding
and de- veloping the herd, this is her do- main, while markku focuses more on farming, machinery and general farm management, such as feeding.
lallukka
sees no special advan- tages in being a woman and making
breeding
decisions; it all comes down to the natural abilities and in- terests of the couple running the farm. ?the most important thing is to divide the tasks and duties, so we are in balance. it is all about cooper- ation and partnership. we discuss important choices together,? lalluk- ka says while her husband agrees. when making decisions concern- ing
breeding
choices, she trusts her own judgement but always consults with their
breeding
advisor from faba. the teamwork with the breed- ing advisor has worked very well; in seven years, the herd has developed a lot. the
lallukka
farm?s goal has been to breed healthy, robot suitable and high producing
cows
? the in- visible cow. they also do a lot of genomic testing on their heifers, as they are part of the vikinggenetics ld project where farmers are sup- ported by vikinggenetics in genomi- cally testing all females in the herd. when asked if she has any fa- vourite bulls, she says: ?peterslund has been my all-time favourite. his offspring have always been high producing, healthy and easy to man- age. absolutely the invisible
cows
we want,?
lallukka
says. ?peter- slund has been one of the most best-selling vikinggenetics bulls of all time. ?attached to the
cows
? the
lallukka
couple have achieved their goals through hard work, care- ful planning and making tough choices regarding culling of animals. the culling of animals is not lalluk- ka?s favourite thing to do. ?i get easi- ly attached to the animals,? she ad- mits.
lallukka
adds that this is her biggest downfall when it comes to
breeding
and farm management: ?i always find it very emotional and sad when we have to let go of
cows
that have been with us for a long time?. this attachment to animals has always been a part of her nature ever since she was a child. having said that, there is a hidden strength in this caring attitude. ?my grandmoth- er, aini rytkönen, told me that if you are good to the animals, they will be good to you too. this is very true and i have always acted accord- ingly. ai technicians, vets and other visitors are always very surprised to see our herd ? the
cows
are so well behaved and friendly and that makes it very easy to manage our herd,?
lallukka
explains. there are 70
cows
in the herd; 80% holstein and 20% red. when making decisions regarding
breeding
choices, anuriikka trusts her own selections but always consults her choices with their
breeding
advisor from faba 17 december 2017 | vikingnews
flushing-females-collection-18.html