The Irish Moiled Cattle Society uses an official Type Classification Scoring System in conjunction with Holstein UK in the UK and the IHFA in the Republic of Ireland
Classification is the system of assessing the body conformation and functional parts of an animal and assigning a score out of 100 and categorising them as Poor (P), Fair (F), Good (G), Good Plus (GP), Very Good (VG) or Excellent (E) depending on the score assigned.
Classification is a very useful tool for identifying the breeds best and most consistent high scoring cow families (VG and EX animals). From the data collected during the classification process, specific strengths and weaknesses are highlighted allowing informed decisions to be made on making the correct bull selection for your herd and ultimately improving quality within the breed.
Classifiers from Holstein UK or the IHFA will score each cow/bull using a linear system and they will assign a score to the body area, rump area, mammary system, legs and feet and breed character of each animal. The animals current body condition does not have any bearing on the classification score as the classifiers look at the working animal beneath the flesh (i.e animals do not need to be in show condition to be classified)
A separate score will be recorded for 3 other criteria:
- Muscling (Meat producing potential of the animal)
- Colour (4 categories)
- ‘Poppy’ eyes present or absent.
- EX-90-97 points
- VG- 85-89 points
- GP- 80-84 points
- G- 75-79 points
- F- 65-74 points
- P- 50-64 points