Finnish Ayrshire
# Finnish Ayrshire

The Finnish Ayrshire is a Finnish breed of dairy cattle. It derives from Scottish Ayrshire stock imported to Finland between about 1847 and $1923.^{:118}$ It is the most numerous dairy breed of the country, constituting approximately 61% of the dairy $herd.^{:176}$

## History

A breed society, the Afvelsföreningen för Ayrshire-boskap i Finland, was formed in 1901; a herd-book was started in the same year.

In the 1960s and 1970s Finnish Ayrshire semen was used to improve the dairy capabilities of the Ayrshire in the United $Kingdom.^{:61}$

Its conservation status was given as "not at risk" by the FAO in 2007 and by DAD-IS in $2021.^{:40}$

## Characteristics

The cattle are multi-coloured red and white.

## Use

The cattle are reared for their milk. The average milk yield per lactation is 8571 kg, with 4.28% $fat.^{:176}$

