

Accurate body condition score (BCS) assessment is essential when it is being used to support decision making or as a criteria in animal welfare assessments.
Farmers can use a Certified BCS Assessor to score their herd with the confidence that their chosen assessor is consistently scoring to the NZ BCS system.
The assessor programme is seeking to ensure that the services of a certified BCS Assessor are available to all dairy farmers in all regions.
The benefits of certification include:
- Skill recognition
- Certification gives quality assurance and shows that you meet strict criteria and are serious about what you do
- Training and development
- Commitment to on-going calibration and training keeps your skills up-to-date
- Promotion
- Your profile will be added to the database of Certified BCS Assessors on the DairyNZ website
- Preferential contracting of Certified BCS Assessors where body condition scoring is required in DairyNZ development projects
- Use of a logo that enables farmers to identify you as a Certified BCS Assessor
Body condition scoring is also a skill that farmers are encouraged to acquire and use throughout the year, in conjunction with assessments by a Certified BCS Assessor at key times. For information about how you can body condition score your cows see the How to BCS page and our Body Condition Scoring Made Easy booklet.
Becoming a Certified Assessor
Is becoming a certified assessor the right move for you, your business and your clients?
The use of body condition scoring as an essential management tool has gained traction over the past ten years and is now recognised by dairy farms as a key management indicator.
Steps to become a Certified Assessor
Expand the sections below to find out how to become an assessor and how to then maintain your certified status.
The Calibration Team who are responsible for running the Certified BCS Assessor Programme events can be found here.
The Body Condition Score Assessor Certification Programme is committed to Certified Assessors maintaining a high standard of professional conduct and operates a complaints process. For more information or to provide feedback, please click here.
The programme has been developed as part of the Transforming the Dairy Value Chain Primary Growth Partnership programme, led by commercial partners, including DairyNZ and Fonterra, and partnered by MPI.