Advanced Technologies: Cattle Reproduction

Why continue breeding animals that aren’t progressing genetically, leaving your herd severely lacking the quality that breeders, producers, and buyers are looking for in today’s industry?

Baby dairy calves: the next generation of dairy cattle and the future of our milk industry

What is it?

Artificial Insemination, better known as AI is the process of manually depositing semen into the cervix of the female to fertilize an egg(s).

Embryo Transfer, which is also known as ET is the process of transferring embryos from a genetically superior female to females of lesser quality.

Overview

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) have become extremely popular in the farming industry. Today artificial insemination is used worldwide as a standard practice for breeding cattle, with over 70% of dairy cattle in the U.S. being bred with the use of AI, and embryo transfer having significant advancements in the past 50–60 years, it is now widely used in both dairy and beef cattle reproduction.

[embed]World renowned AI and ET specialist Dr. Brad discussing assisted reproductive technologies, different techniques of AI and ET and how they can compliment each other, along with their advantages

Why use AI or ET?

Using AI and ET in elite breeding programs allows for rapid genetic improvements within the herd. By using sperm from genetically superior bulls for those females who need improvement in their offspring, and implanting embryos from elite females to recipient cows of lesser quality. This can be beneficial to those wanting to make fast but necessary improvements in the next generation of cattle.

Although using these more advanced technologies can seem like a costly decision, in the long run they can actually be worthwhile to invest in. Using technologies such as AI and ET can actually reduce the number of cattle in your herd while still producing a beneficial number of offspring, reducing the number of cattle that need to be fed and cared for which will overall reduce the money that is being put into the herd while making profits higher with better quality animals.

Artificial Insemination

Definition

Artificial insemination is the process of collecting semen from genetically superior bulls and manually depositing it into the reproductive tract of a female.

The Process

Semen Collection

To begin the process, semen is collected from the bull and either prepared for immediate use or frozen for later use. To prepare the semen is evaluated under a microscope to look for characteristics such as sperm motility, morphology, and concentration, they will also examine for the presence of cells other than the sperm cells. The semen is then to be used within 24 hours or prepared to freeze for later use. Semen extender is used when freezing semen to protect the sperm cells during the process of freezing and thawing, as well as to provide an energy source and prevent bacterial growth. Semen is loaded into plastic straws, sealed and then frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen tanks.

Estrus Detection

When determining when to breed a cow you have to determine when the cow is in estrus, which is typically only about a 12–18 hour window at the beginning of the estrous cycle. Approximately 12 hours after estrus is when ovulation occurs, this will be the prime window to breed the cow. Breeding 12 hours after estrus begins will allow the sperm cells to have enough time to undergo capacitation and travel to the oviduct to meet the oocyte by the time ovulation occurs.

Thawing and Insemination

When it is time to inseminate the cow will be restrained and the semen is thawed to 35–37°C, using a water bath for approximately 45 seconds as the semen will thaw fairly quickly. The straw is then dried and the crimped end is cut off prior to loading it into the AI gun. The AI gun is then inserted vaginally and guided through the cervix, the semen is then expelled from the gun and deposited near the junction of the cervix and uterus.

Advantages of AI

• AI allows elite sires genetics to be used by numerous operations. Bulls can go from breeding around 50 cows a year naturally to producing thousands of calves with AI.
• Using AI allows for a broader spectrum of breeding options. There are an extremely high number of bulls available for AI, allowing producers to use superior genetics without having a bull on hand.
• By using AI, you can ultimately cut costs down as purchasing and maintaining a bull can cost significantly more than purchasing semen.
• With AI producers can manage calving season more efficiently. As exact breeding dates are known producers will have better knowledge of when cows will calve.
• Producers can reduce the number of cows calving late. By synchronizing all cows for that breeding season and breeding them at the beginning of the season, it is known that even late-calvers will give birth earlier in the season.
• With cows that calve later in the season their calf has less time to grow and often times these calves end up lighter at weaning than the other calves. Using AI to breed these cows earlier in the season allows for their calves to have adequate time to grow and gain before weaning.

[embed]Infograph made using Canva. Supplies some of the most basic info relating to artificial insemination specifically in cattle, including the general process, success rates and benefits, and basic methods of semen handling.

Embryo Transfer

Definition

Embryo transfer is the process of either flushing embryos or in vitro fertilization(IVF) after embryo production. An embryo is transferred from a genetically superior female to the uterus of a lower-quality recipient female. The embryo will develop and the recipient will raise the calf until weaning.

The goal is to generate numerous viable embryos from donor cows for transfer to aid in the improvement of the herd.

The Process

Superovulation

In order to generate numerous embryos for ET, a number of oocytes must first be generated. This can be accomplished using superovulation. The donor is set up on a four day regimen of twice daily injections of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in order to stimulate follicular growth. On the third day the donor is also given an injection of prostaglandin. This will bring the donor into estrus within the next day or two. Artificial insemination is then used to breed the female numerous times after estrus.

Embryo Flushing

Embryos then have to be flushed. After being fertilized the embryos are allowed to develop in the donor for up to seven days before transfer. An epidural anesthetic is first administered to the donor to relax the sacral nerves to prevent the cow from straining during the procedure. A silicon catheter is then inserted into the uterus. The catheter cuff is inflated to seal the opening of the cervix. A Y-connecter with inflow and outflow tubes is connected through the exterior of the catheter. Flushing media is then passed through the inflow tube into the uterus, and the fluid is drained through the outflow tube by gravitational force. This is then done multiple times to flush the embryos from the uterus into the filter. Embryos are then rinsed from the filter and examined under a microscope for quality and stage of development.

Fresh Embryo Transfer

For fresh embryo transfer, embryos are loaded with a holding media into a straw. Each straw is loaded into an ET gun for transfer. The corpus luteum is then identified in the donor cow by rectally palpitating the ovaries, this indicates which ovary has ovulated. The loaded ET gun is then guided to the uterine horn and the embryo is gently expelled.

Embryo Freezing

Embryos that are not going to be transferred immediately will need to be frozen. There are numerous methods for freezing embryos. Including the direct transfer method (DT), this is one of the more popular methods as it’s easy and extremely practical. The embryos are prepared and loaded into a straw using a freezing media, the straws are then slowly cooled to -35°C and placed in liquid nitrogen to be stored.

Frozen Embryo Transfer

To transfer embryos that were frozen using the DT method, embryos will need to be air-thawed for only a few seconds and then placed into a water bath for approximately 15 seconds. The embryo straw is then loaded into the ET gun and transferred just as a fresh embryo would be.

Advantages of ET

• ET allows for one cow to be able to produce a higher number of offspring yearly that would be impossible through natural breeding.
• Animals of lower genetic potential can still be utilized as recipients.
• There is an increased rate in genetic improvement.
• Breeders can produce more calves each breeding season that sell for a better price as they are higher quality.

As embryo transfer has its disadvantages, overall it has been shown that the good outweighs the bad in this case.

[embed]Infograph created using Canva on some basic embryo transfer information including a brief overview, benefits, methods and success rates.

Conclusion

After a tremendous amount of research and having a general interest in the topic I am a firm believer that using assisted reproductive technologies in a breeding program is worth all the challenges that come with them when the benefits are that good. Although the initial costs can be intimidating, the investment often pays off in the long run.

In an industry where genetic advancements and productivity are key to success, relying on outdated breeding methods is no longer sustainable.

Using AI and ET will allow a breeding program to have rapid genetic improvements in a significantly shorter amount of time than natural breeding. Using genetics from superior animals to improve upon those of lesser quality or continue to better already exceptional bloodlines.

Using either of these methods also allows for the reduction of overhead costs as well as an increase in overall profitability as you will not need as many cows in your program, but you will be producing better offspring. Quality over quantity.

By investing in these technologies producers are enhancing the overall genetic potential of their cattle as well as securing a more efficient, competitive and sustainable future for their operations. The next generation of high-quality, performance-driven cattle starts with the decisions we make today.

If you are someone who is considering adding ART to your breeding program try looking at these companies to get an overview of prices and different services provided (keep in mind prices and services reflected are specific to each company and area and may not apply to everyone).

[embed]Integrated Breeders Integrated Breeders is a trusted leader in cattle reproductive technologies. Learn about our high-quality bull semen…www.integratedbreeders.com

[embed]Trans Ova Genetics | Leaders In Reproductive Technologies From veterinarians and embryologists, to animal caretakers and client service representatives, each location and its…transova.com

[embed]ReproLogix | Reproductive Technologies | Fort Scott Located in the heart of the Midwest, ReproLogix offers high quality reproductive technologies that follow state…www.reprologixks.com