ICAR Executive Board approved the granting of the Certificate of Quality to the state agency „Agricultural Data Centre” for Identification system and production recording of dairy and beef cattle, sheep and goats, and genetic evaluation on November, 2009.

The Certificate of Quality conforms that animal recording and genetic evaluation is done according to ICAR guidelines in Latvia (www.icar.org/pages/certificate_of_quality.htm).

ICAR (www.icar.org) is today the world-wide organisation for the standardisation of animal recording and productivity evaluation. Its aim is to promote improvement of farm animal recording and evaluation through the formulation of definitions and standards for the measurement of traits of economic importance.

ICAR’s mission is to provide benefits to its member organisations through actions that they cannot do efficiently themselves:

• providing information and services which help member organisations to develop, operate and manage their business;
• providing information and services which promote benefits of recording and evaluation, thereby increasing the demand for the services provided by ICAR member organisations;
• providing guidelines and standards which facilitate the provision of services and the exchange of information by member organisations both nationally and internationally;
• providing a body through which member organisations can work together to achieve shared objectives.

The present structure of ICAR as a registered non-profit INGO provides for full participation of its members in developing - among other things - guidelines and recommendations on the basis of the sound scientific evidence. Guidelines represent a minimum of the requirements set up to ensure a satisfactory degree of uniformity of recording among member countries, and a maximum flexibility in the choice of methods.