ORIGIN OF
THE AYRSHIRE BREED
The ayrshire breed originated in
the County of Ayr in Scotland, prior to 1800. There
is good evidence that several breeds were crossed
with native cattle to create the foundation animals
of the breed. The principal blood used in improvement
of the breed in 1750's was that of the Teeswater
stock, which later was largely used in the formation
of the Shorthorn breed in England. A majority of the
breeding in Teeswater was from Dutch or Flemish
cattle. Also animals from the West Highland,
Shorthorn and Channel Island breeds have had an
influence on improvement of the Ayrshire breed. It is
a credit of the Scottish farmers that they used any
available breeding stock that they felt would improve
their native cattle. The Ayrshire Cattle Society Herd
Book was established in 1877.
Ayrshire in Finland
The first Ayrshire import to
Finland was done in 1845, when Linders' brothers
imported a bull, a cow and a heifer from Germany.
Between the years 1847-1885 the Finnish government
supported remarkably the dairy cattle breeding stock
imports. Many breeds were imported, but the Ayrshire
was considered the most suitable one to our climate.
During that period the Aysrhire breed had become more
and more popular in Germany and in Holland because of
its' good milking and beef capacity as well as being
a good draft animal. The animals supported by
government were located around Finland in groups that
included two cows and a bull each. The agreement
between the government and the farmers included
details about how the breeding stock should be
managed. For instance the bull should yearly serve 60
cows from other farms. So they supposed the breed to
be spread fastest all over the country.
The most remarkable import of
breeding stock was in 1923, when the Rosenlew family
brought 6 bulls and 33 heifers from Scotland. Bulls
South Craig Snowball, Dunlop Talisman, and Suontaka
Earl Errant (son of an imported heifer), have their
own bloodlines still alive. At 1920's there was a
serious discussion about the breeding strategies
among the breeders, and as the result it was decided
to keep the Ayrshire breed pure-bred. In 1924 the
animals with Swedish background were disqualified
from the herdbook. The goal was to keep on with an
International Ayrshire breed, not to create a new red-and
white breed as they had done in Sweden.
The Finnish Ayrshire Cattle Society
was established in 15th of January 1901. It's goal
was "to create the Finnish Ayrshire Breed that
meets great demands in both production and genetics."
In 1969 the Finnish Ayrshire Cattle Society, The Pig
Breeding Society and The Finnish Cattle Breeding
society merged into the Finnish Animal Breeding
Association, which started its' work at 1971. The
increasing of international competition in cattle
breeding has become an important reason to pay more
attention to both national and international markets
of Finnish Ayrshire genetics. Finnish Ayrshire has a
great production potential as well as good fertility
and health, and the Finnish Ayrshire Breeders Society
was established by the breeders in 2000 to promote
the Finnish Ayrshire both in Finland and
internationally and to keep on the continous
discussion about the most important breeding goals.
In 60's and 70's some frozen semen
was imported to Finland from Great Britain and United
States. American bull Selwood Betty's Commander had a
good influence on the conformation traits of Finnish
Ayrshire, and through his great-grandsons Pirkkulan
Eepa, Gäddnäs Eskil, Vanhapaikan Emppu and Haralan
Etro (all sons of the famous bull Kettulan Repo) this
influence has spred widely to the breed all over the
country. In 1970's some foreign blood was imported to
the Ayrshire breed, first from Norway and later from
Sweden. Most of these bulls had a strong ayrshire
background, Norweigen A.Lier as an exception. A.Lier
had a good influence on production traits, but the
type traits of his progeny haven't been so satisfying.
Today's Ayrshire breeding aims
towards Scandinavian red-and-white breed. The
selection of bulls is based on genetic traits, and
the pure Ayrshire pedigree is not considered to be
important any more. That gives the Scandinavian red
and white breeding much larger population and faster
improvement in genetic traits. The Finnish Ayrshire
Breeders Society wants to continue the discussion
about the breeding goals in Scandinavian profile. The
Ayrshire breed has managed well in the hard climate
of Finland for 150 years. The enthusiasm of the
Finnish Ayrshire breeders will keep the breed alive
and competitive in the future.
