The enthusiasm for Fleckvieh breeding is omnipresent not only in our country, but also in our neighbouring countries in Europe. It therefore makes sense to exchange ideas on topics for constructive cooperation and the development and application of new methods. The European Conformation Group therefore meets annually in order to further harmonise Fleckvieh breeding in the countries with the aim of bringing the populations together as far as possible.

At this year’s meeting, Slovakia was the host country for the first time and provided the best conditions both for the presentation of the expert contributions and for the practical exercises. As a kind of basic information, the state of the use of spot scores was reported from the countries. Dr. Krogmeier pointed out how the evaluation results have developed in the countries of the common breeding value assessment. The regular training of the classifiers and the clearly defined guidelines for the application of spot scores have led to a very good agreement between the partners in recent years (see Figure 1). This ensures the prerequisite for a uniform data basis and the cross-national exchange of sires enables reliable breeding values. Other countries are already preparing to join our breeding value estimation system with a great deal of commitment.