The dairy cow research in the University of Helsinki takes place at the Viikki Research Farm. The farm is located on the Viikki Campus providing core research farm services for research and educational needs of the university faculties. The unit comprises of a research barn with 60 genetically high-merit dairy cows and 155 ha arable land for diverse research needs of plant production and soil sciences, and feed production.
The research barn includes a free-stall barn equipped with robotic milking and automatic feed intake recording system as well as modern facilities for physiological studies on dairy cows. The milking robot is equipped with a GreenFeed system for real-time measurement of greenhouse gas emissions of individual cow in normal on-farm conditions. The unit has been used for dairy cow welfare studies and for studies focusing on feed preservation, alternative feed protein sources, product quality, and dietary means to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
Viikki Research Farm services: https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/infrastructures/viikki-research-farm/services