The Future of Artificial Insemination?

During the last decade, an increasingly important technology in optimizing the production system has been the widespread adoption of artificial insemination (AI). The benefits of AI include decreased production costs, increased rate of genetic improvement, reduced disease transfer, and a more uniform and improved product at the packing plant. With appropriate timing and management, fertility can match or exceed levels achieved with natural mating. Due to its technical nature however, care must be taken to ensure all steps are performed correctly in order to achieve the highest fertility rates. New research aimed at lowering the cost of AI may actually eliminate some of these technical issues so that AI becomes more efficient and easier to use than ever. This paper will review a few of these issues and the new research surrounding them.