Accompanied by Mr. Christian Ringdorfer, we set off in the morning towards Bruck an der Glocknerstraße, where this year's event was being held. There, the event was ceremoniously opened by the brass band of the agricultural college, before the program continued with a meeting with the cattle breeding advisor, who had previously evaluated the animals to be judged.
The host also impressed with a well-organized program. Each participating student was provided with a guide who accompanied the groups through the school and throughout the day. A total of 74 students competed in the Fleckvieh breed, and 9 each in the Brown Swiss and Holstein breeds. Working in groups of eight, each student had 20 minutes to describe two animals of their chosen breed. At the end, the assessments of the individual characteristics were compared with those of the breeding advisor, and the overall deviation was calculated.
Even though our students did not achieve a top-3 ranking, they still managed to achieve a strong 5th place out of 23 participating schools in the school ranking.
What is the purpose of animal evaluation?
The aim of linear description of cattle is to express their exterior (external appearance) as accurately as possible in numerical terms. For example, in the case of the Fleckvieh breed, a total of 21 individual traits are included in the assessment, resulting in an overall score across the four main traits: frame, muscling, feet and legs, and udder. Each score ranges from 68 (worst) to 93 (best). Only through this progeny description, along with performance data and genetic typing, can conclusions be drawn in practice about the breeding work of insemination stations and farmers.
Author: Stefan Ernst
