The Rural Voice, 1981-01, Page 4i
Artificial insemination
Every farm can have its own geneticist
BY BEV BROWN
If you had told your grandfather that
some day it would be possible for his
cows to give birth to calves without ever
having been near a bull, he would have
taken you out to the woodshed to whip
some sense intoou. It was traditional for
a dairy or beef -farmer to keep a bull --
usually penned up in the barn. but often
allowed to run free in a field. Almost
every farm family can relate a tale about
someone being chased, gored. crushed or
otherwise maimed by the herd bull, and
often the victims were children.
But herd improvement, not personal
safety, was the motivating factor behind
the founding of the first artificial insem-
ination unit in Ontario established at
Waterloo in 1941 on the suggestion of
a prominent Galt Jers4 breeder William
J. Henderson. (Units in Nova Scotia and
Manitoba had started in 1940). E.I.
McLoughry, agricultural representative
from Waterloo County at the time, was
active in the development of the A.I.
program right from the start.
The Unit appointed Dr. J.E. Johnson. a
well-known Waterloo veterinarian to act
as technician in charge of the insemin-
ation work. "The difficulties encountered
by this pioneer group were many," Dr.
Johnson wrote in later years. "The most
significant was the complete absence of
any enlightening literature as to the
practical procedure of artificial insemin-
ation. As I remember, one short article on
tlie, subject gave instructions to heat _the
(artificial) vagina with water to 10 to 110
degrees Fahrenheit. This alone may have
been the cause of our failure with the first
bull purchased by the Unit. Moreover,
the usual substitute for a female was a
wooden dummy covered with a buffalo
robe, which our heavy Rowsdale bull
broke down on the first jump."
The bull was used too often, and,
needless to say, this situation did not
continue tor long as the animal did not
stand up to this abuse.
Dr. Johnson finally travelled to Bing-
hampton, New York, where a successful
breeding club had been functioning for
several years. "This trip proved to be of
great benefit for future work as the
PG. 4 THE RURAL VOICE/JANUARY 1981
technique learned there is much like that
used today," Dr. Johnson wrote. "Dilu-
tion of semen was found to be practical
and the temperature of the water used in
the artificial vagina was corrected (to 120
degrees F.)."
Following this trip several different
bulls were selected and eventually a
stable for the bulls was rented from the,
Maple Lane Dairy in Waterloo. But it was
inconvenient having the laboratory and
office several miles from the bull, so in
January, 1947 the number of bulls was
increased and the complete unit, includ-
ing lab and office, established under one
roof. The organization was called the
Waterloo Cattle Breeding Association
and it serviced the countries of Waterloo,
Wellington. Bruce and Huron, plus a
small part of northern Perth and a narrow
strip of western Grey.
A LONG HISTORY
But the history of A.I. goes a long way
back. In fact, at least one case of an
animal being bred artificially is reported
to have been accomplished in the 14th
Century. In 1900. Ivanoff in the U.S.S.R.
began experimenting with artificial in-
semination of horses. At about the time of
the First World War in 1914, necessity
became the mother of invention, when a
venereal disease hit horses used in the
Russian Army and Ivanoff's technique
found application.
In natural mating, nature is wasteful.
Millions of sperm are ejaculated, while
one eventually fertilizes the egg. By
extending or diluting the semen, a bull
can father literally thousands of calves in
one year. Individual sires vary greatly.
but an average ejaculate, when extended,
will inseminate approximately 200 cows.
Semen from each bull is usually
collected at the breeding unit once or
twice a week. It is then taken to the
laboratory, immediately adjacent to the
semen collection area, for evaluation and
processing. Any sudden change in temp-
erature is detrimental to the life of the
sperm in the semen. In general, samples
are selected on the basis of four tests:
motility (ability to move) of sperm
concentration, percentage of live and of
abnormal sperm. Some samples are
discarded at this point in order to supply
semen that will maintain a satisfactory
fertility
After being evaluated, the raw semen
is mixed with the extender solution
(specially prepared homogenized whole
milk, plus antibiotics to control bacteria,
and glycerol) and then cooled to 40
degrees F. by a series of water baths over
a two-hour period.
One dose. in plastic straws or ampoules
of extended semen containing approxi-
mately 12 to 20 million live sperm. is used
for each insemination.
FREEZING AGENT
The use of frozen bull semen increased
when it was discovered that liquid
nitrogen could be used as a freezing
agent. Sperm cells remain dormant in a
frozen condition providing the tempera-
ture remains at least minus 79 degrees F.
and semen can be stored in this liquid for
an indefiniite length of time. Calves are
being produced today from semen that
has been frozen and stored for more than
15 years. However, occasionally the
semen from a sire does not freeze
satisfactorily. When this problem is
identified, through periodic checks of the
semen under the microscope. the sire is
removed from the unit's stud.
Today,a dairy farmer does not need to
spend thousands of dollars for one bull;
nor does he have to keep a dangerous bull
in his herd. Through the stud units
established by United Breeders Inc.
(Guelph) and Western Ontario Breeders
(Woodstock) he has access to superior
bulls from across North America. When
breeders assess the cow to be bred. for
type. milk and fat production. they can
choose the sire that is expected to
improve on her short -comings in the
resulting offspring.
If a sire produces a great number of
female offspring that are above breed
average for butterfat production, then he
is a fat production improver. This same