Introduction in English

NASEVA – Centralized Health Care Register for Finnish Cattle Herds

What is Naseva?

Naseva (naseva.fi) is a centralized health care register open to Finnish cattle farms. The system collects comprehensive information on herd and individual animal health, treatments, medications, slaughter quality, housing conditions, and animal welfare. Naseva provides a valuable tool for monitoring cattle health and welfare and for supporting continuous development on farms.

Health care based on regular veterinary work

The core of Naseva is regular and systematic veterinary herd health care aimed at improving animal welfare and preventing diseases. This includes the prevention of infectious diseases, the appropriate treatment of sick animals, and the responsible and controlled use of veterinary medicines.

On farms participating in Naseva, a veterinarian conducts a herd health visit at least once a year. During the visit, veterinarian assesses feeding, housing conditions, animal health, and behavior. A health plan and recommended measures are prepared together with the farmer.

Joining the register and collecting data

A farm joins Naseva by signing a herd health care contract with a veterinarian, authorizing the veterinarian to access the farm’s data. The register includes the herd health care contract, the herd health plan, and key health-related information such as medications and laboratory or sample results. The herd health plan is updated annually during the herd health visit.

Background and development

The development of the centralized health care register for Finnish cattle herds began in June 2005. Naseva operates as a special unit within Animal Health ETT and is responsible for administering the register. The system has been developed in cooperation with farmers, the meat and dairy industry, veterinarians, advisors, research institutes, and authorities.

The development of Naseva is guided by a Steering Group appointed by the Board of Animal Health ETT. Day-to-day operations and system development are managed by the Service Manager and Naseva’ s expert veterinarian. In 2022, a Naseva Advisory Board was established with representatives from all Naseva member dairies and slaughterhouses.

National objectives

The national objectives of cattle health care are to improve production profitability; monitor and control the disease situation and prevent diseases; ensure the responsible and controlled use of medicines; promote animal welfare; collect and utilize data; and ensure product quality and consumer safety. In addition, the objective is to promote the practical implementation of legislation.

Data collected through Naseva makes visible the responsible and long-term work conducted daily on Finnish cattle farms to promote animal health, animal welfare, and the production of high-quality food. Systematic and regular herd health care supports animal health and welfare and improves production profitability by enabling consistent growth and production. At the same time, it supports responsible milk and meat production and strengthens trust in Finnish food.

Extensive coverage and quality assurance

Naseva covers nearly 100% of all dairy cows in Finland and 94% of beef cattle (2024). The reliability of the collected data is monitored in accordance with the ISO 9001 standard. Quality management is also ensured through external supplier assessments. The ISO 9001 certificate has been issued to Animal Health ETT based on an assessment conducted by Kiwa.