The Central Office for Animal Recording (UCC) is an office within AIA that is responsible, under the supervision of the Ministry of Agricultural Polices, to coordinate the national activity of animal performance recording; The Herd Books keeping activity consists of supervising the productive and reproductive information of the animals producing meat and milk. The monitored species for the meat production are cows and sheep whilst those ones monitored for the milk production are cows, sheep, goat and buffalo.
UCC’s activity has been established by the Italian law n. 30/1991 and additional amendments, and it is executed through AIA’s affiliated entities widespread across the national territory to whom is demanded AIA’s in farm control activities. Each affiliated entity has one branch office for animal performance recording, which coordinates the technical staff responsible of gathering periodically information from associated farms.
The data-gathering activity is carried out on the basis of rules set up by Italian Minister of Agricultural Policies, Food and Forestry (Masaf), and of the approvals of Technical Committees of animal performance recording of meat and milk. These activities guarantee uniform and comparable data all over the national area. The data of performance recording , once collected, are sent to the UCC that provides for the data-entry into a national single database patented by AIA. The managing of the data gathered are then translated into practical information to the breeders about the production of controlled animal breeds and the related in farm overall performance.
The analysed information are important means to ensure a best practice farm management, and therefore it is immediately provided to the breeders in paper copy or electronic form. Moreover, these data are very useful for the genetic selection. The UCC publishes yearly “the bulletin of milk performance recording”, a summary report of the data-gathering activity.
For more information please contact:
Riccardo Negrini - E-mail: negrini.r@aia.it