Finnish Ayrshire

The Finnish Ayrshire is the most common cattle in Finland (74%). The breed stems from the importation of around 1600 Ayrshire cattle from Scotland and Sweden from 1847-1923. The Finnish Ayrshire is bred with the Swedish Red Cattle (SRB) and local Norwegian cow breeds to breed the Norwegian Red, which is the dominant breed in Norway. Semen is therefore imported from the Finnish Ayrshire to use for Norwegian Reds. In 2008, just one Finnish Ayrshire was used as the father of all Norwegian Reds.

Finnish Ayrshires are most often horned and red-brown, with a calm disposition. Annual milk production can be up to 7400 kg, with 4.36% fat and 3.36% protein. The average living weight is 540 kg for grown cows.