The 2023 VikingGenetics Herd of the Year Sweden award was given to Ängesbäckens Lantbruk during Växadagarna 2024 earlier this year. This recognition of a top breeding interest and good fertility practices has led them to be part of VikingGenetics’ breeding and embryo programmes.
Located in Ånäset, in the north of Sweden, Ängesbäckens Lantbruk is at the forefront of milk production in the area and is an example of what many years of breeding work can achieve. Petra Sandegren, Göran Olofsson and Ingrid Sundbom own and run the farm with eight other employees. Petra is responsible for the animals, and Göran is chairman of the board of Norrmejerier, a well-known local dairy company in Norrland.
According to Petra, a breeding goal focused on health and sustainability drives milk production forward for their herd. This, among other things, demonstrates the progress that can be achieved when one sticks to one's breeding goal.
The 305-dairy cow herd is milked in five robots, yielding almost 12,400 kg ECM, with 4.2% fat and 3.6% protein. The farm has been genomically testing its animals for nearly ten years, and the results form the basis for their breeding work.
"We've genomically tested our animals since 2014, which has greatly benefited our breeding strategy. It's an excellent tool that allows you to select based on the traits you think are most important. It's also great fun to get the results back and compare them with the calculated breeding values," says Petra Sandegren.
