The Northern Finncattle (‘Cattle of Lapland’), is an endangered native breed well adapted to northern conditions. The goal of this project was to enhance possibilities for economic activities based on Northern Finncattle by combining multidisciplinary research and development work, and thereby promote the revival of the breed. The project focused on the current status of farming of Northern Finncattle, the characteristics of milk and meat, and farmers’ experiences of the breed. The profitability of Northern Finncattle farming was also investigated.

For the milk research, the farms breeding both the Northern Finncattle and the reference breeds (Ayrshire, Holstein) were identified in Lapland and elsewhere in the country. Individual cow milk samples were collected from farms suitable for the study (18 farms) and analysed for fatty acid composition. The study was conducted during the indoor feeding period, when the cows were fed with a similar type of diet. The milk fat and protein contents of the Northern Finncattle cows were not significantly different from those of the reference breeds. Milk of Northern Finncattle had slightly more unsaturated fats (e.g. oleic acid) than milk of other breeds but the differences were small. The milk whey contained all nutritionally essential amino acids. The milk and whey of the Northern Finncattle are of high quality and suit well for further processing.

For the meat study, 12 calves of Northern Finncattle and 11 calves of Holstein breed were reared on a farm in Lapland as steers to 20 months of age. Meat samples were subjected to meat technological and sensory analyses. The meat of Northern Finncattle steers was evaluated as tastier and juicier than that of Holstein steers.

The calculations for Northern Finncattle products showed profitable business opportunities. Calculations on the profitability of farming based solely on Northern Finncattle cows as a single breed showed that the production system may not be profitable if only raw material, such as milk and meat, are produced but can be profitable if combined with direct farm sales, further processing or other type of business diversification.

The farmers’ views on the breeding of the Northern Finncattle, its sustainability and potential were explored through fieldwork and interviews. The Northern Finncattle has a special, positive and valued position among its breeders, and the breed is seen as sustainable but due to pressures for high input-output production, cows are currently kept only in small numbers in the herds. The actions done by the farmers keeping Northern Finncattle needs greater support and recognition in order to ensure that the breed will be raised on farms and their number will increase in the future.

The knowledge and knowhow generated in the project will promote further development of rural entrepreneurship based on Northern Finncattle. The results highlight the need to develop a special brand for the Lapland Cattle breed.