The 2024 VikingGenetics Herd of the Year award for Finland was given to Maitotiimi Ay at the Hollola Breeding Day celebrations last October. The award recognises the herd’s contributions to VikingGenetics’ breeding programmes and collaboration with Faba osk.
Maitotiimi ay was founded in 2010 from the fusion of two farms and is owned by Päivi and Jari Kaijansinkko and Iida and Tero Taipale. Together, they milk a 252-cow herd of mostly VikingRed and some VikingHolstein, averaging 10,373 kg of milk with 4.7% fat and 3.8% protein across a 305-day lactation – 11,601 kg of energy-corrected milk (ECM).
Maitotiimi Ay is an example of what staying committed to your breeding goal and focusing on excellence can achieve. Systematic genomic testing, a detailed breeding plan and goals, and significant involvement in the VikingEmbryo setup since 2019 have been key to their successes.
After Maitotiimi was founded, a new, more modern free-stall barn was constructed to house the cows and the 2x12 rear milking parlour. The two previous farms had older barns, so new ones would have been needed either way.
The Maitotiimi team shares the workload of feeding, fieldwork, milking, and breeding, a solution that satisfies everyone as time off can be better arranged. Three people on the farm do DIY inseminations, while the municipal veterinarian does pregnancy screenings and other checks and treatments on-site.
On the feeding side, Maitotiimi ay provides their milking cows with a Total Mixed Ration (TMR) of silage, minerals, rapeseed, barley, oats, and wheat once a day, with three different diets according to the cows’ production. There is also a different recipe for dry cows and heifers, who are housed in their own space in the heifer barn.
