Skip to content

What Is NBDI?

Nordic Beef on Dairy Index (NBDI) brings economically important traits together in a single index, making it easier for you to compare bulls across breeds and select the genetics that best fit your herd and production goals. 

Learn more about Beef-on-Dairy
Beef-on-dairy

Choosing the right beef bull is one of the most important decisions in a Beef on Dairy strategy. The Nordic Beef on Dairy Index (NBDI) simplifies your decision. 

  • NBDI combines the most important Beef on Dairy traits into one index.

  • NBDI evaluates a bull's ability to pass on desirable traits when used on dairy cows.

  • 10,000+ Beef on Dairy crossbred calves have been genomically tested to support development of NBDI.

Developed specifically for Beef on Dairy production, NBDI provides a common standard for comparing beef bulls across breeds. Rather than focusing on single trait, NBDI combines several economically important traits into one balanced evaluation. This helps you to select bulls that fit your production goals while simplifying the selection process.

What-is-NBDI-blue

The Traits Behind NBDI

Growth Index and NBDI values are calculated separately for short (less than 550 days) and long (more than 550 days) rearing periods, helping you select bulls that match your production system.
Birth

Bull’s crossbred offsprings genetic potential to be born easily and alive 

  • Calving ease

  • Calf survival

Growth

Carcass gain and quality based on slaughter results from male and female crossbred calves. 

  • Daily carcass gain

  • Carcass conformation score

  • Carcass fat score

Youngstock Survival

Survival of calves from day 1 after birth to 200 days of age

  • Early period (1-30 days)

  • Late period (31-200 days)

Gestation length, cow

Bull’s calves gestation length as a deviation in days from 280 days, when the dam is dairy breed (not in NBDI).

Built on Reliable Nordic Data

The reliability of NBDI is built on extensive Beef on Dairy data from Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. By evaluating bulls on real-world performance and continuously adding new information, the index provides a strong foundation for breeding decisions. The Nordic breeding programmes also include evaluations for feed efficiency, methane emissions, and marbling in proven sires within breed.

More than 10,000 Beef-on-Dairy crossbred calves have been genomically tested to support the development of these breeding evaluations. This ensures that future Beef-on-Dairy breeding decisions can focus on both profitability and resource efficiency.

How we collect data?
Beef-on-dairy-1000x800
NBDI combines real performance records from thousands of animals, giving you a reliable, data-driven way to make a higher profit from the dairy cows that won't be used for the next generation — while maintaining efficiency and animal welfare in the herd.
Line Hjortø
Breeding Manager VikingBeef at VikingGenetics
Viking Genetics - innovative breeding