Artificial insemination (AI) is the process of collecting sperm cells from a male animal and manually

depositing them into the reproductive tract of a female. One can cite a number of potential benefits from
the use of artificial insemination.

1. Increased efficiency of bull usage: During natural breeding, a male will deposit much more semen than
is theoretically needed to produce a pregnancy. In addition, natural breeding is physically stressful. Both
of these factors limit the number of natural matings a male can make. However, collected semen can be
diluted and extended to create hundreds of doses from a single ejaculate. Also, semen can be easily
transported, allowing multiple females in different geographical locations to be inseminated
simultaneously, and semen can be stored for long periods of time, meaning that males can produce
offspring long after their natural reproductive lives end.
2. Increased potential for genetic selection: Because artificial insemination allows males to produce more
offspring, fewer males are needed. Therefore, one can choose only the few best males for use as parents,
increasing the selection intensity. Furthermore, because males can have more offspring, their offspring
can be used in a progeny test program to more accurately evaluate the genetic value of the male. Finally,
individual farmers can use artificial insemination to increase the genetic pool with which his or her
animals can be mated, potentially decreasing effects of inbreeding.
3. Decreased costs: Male animals often grow to be larger than females and can consume relatively larger
amounts of feed. Also, male animals are often more strong, powerful, and potentially ill-mannered and
thus require special housing and handling equipment.
4. Increased safety for animals and farmers: As mentioned, male animals can become large and
aggressive. These factors mean that maintaining a bull on a farm may be dangerous. Also, because of the
relatively larger size of adult males than females, natural mating is more likely to result accidents and
injury to either the cow or the bull than is artificial insemination.
5. Reduced disease transmission: Natural mating allows for the transfer of venereal diseases between
males and females. Some pathogens can be transmitted in semen through artificial insemination, but the
collection process allows for the screening of disease agents. Collected semen is also routinely checked
for quality, which can help avoid problems associated with male infertility.

Artificial insemination has some potential drawbacks, however, that must be considered. First, it can be
more labourious. Male animals instinctively detect the females that are in the correct status for
conception. With artificial insemination the detection work falls on the responsibility of the farmer. Poor
detection results in decreased rates of fertility. Also, increasing the number of offspring per male has
selective advantages only if the best males can be accurately determined. Otherwise this process only
decreases the genetic variability in a population. Increasing the number of offspring per male always
reduces the gene pool. The benefits of more intense selection must be balanced against the negative
effects of decreased variation.
How does artificial insemination work in cows?

There are many reasons why artificial cow insemination is preferred. First and foremost is that it makes
it much easier, and less costly, to inseminate a large number of cows. Also, with the AI method, the farmer
does not have to bring an actual bull to the farm, which saves both time and money. In order to keep the
milk production at a high level, it is very important to conduct proper fertility management, Afimilk
stands behind a world-leading automatic heat detection system, AfiAct. This system enables precise
detection of the cows’ estrus and leads to great savings for the dairy farm.

To carry out AI, semen must be collected from the bull and then frozen. When the semen is frozen, it is
stored in what is referred to as a straw, which is basically a plastic tube. The semen is mixed with a type
of cryo-protectant in order to stay viable. Other substances that can be added to the sperm are
antibiotics, so that the cows inseminated will not contract bacterial diseases, and an extender, which
makes it possible to use the amount of sperm for a greater number of inseminations.

The semen can be used either the same day or at a later time, even in a different location. In fact, AI has
been carried out between different countries.

In order for the insemination to succeed, it must be carried out when the cow goes into estrus, which
happens naturally every 18 to 24 days. Estrus can also be induced using hormones. This makes it possible
to completely control the timetable of the insemination which can make the process very cost effective.
With Afimilk’s system, AfiAct, this will not be necessary, making the process even more effective since the
costs for drugs are canceled.

Purpose of artificial insemination

Artificial insemination (AI) is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine
cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual
intercourse.

Artificial insemination in pigs today

Use of artificial insemination (AI) for breeding pigs has been instrumental for facilitating global
improvements in fertility, genetics, labor, and herd health. The establishment of AI centers for
management of boars and production of semen has allowed for selection of boars for fertility and sperm
production using in vitro and in vivo measures. Today, boars can be managed for production of 20 to 40
traditional AI doses containing 2.5 to 3.0 billion motile sperm in 75 to 100 mL of extender or 40 to 60
doses with 1.5 to 2.0 billion sperm in similar or reduced volumes for use in cervical or intrauterine AI.
Regardless of the sperm dose, in liquid form, extenders are designed to sustain sperm fertility for 3 to
7 days. On farm, AI is the predominant form for commercial sow breeding and relies on manual detection
of estrus with sows receiving two cervical or two intrauterine inseminations of the traditional or low
sperm doses on each day detected in standing estrus. New approaches for increasing rates of genetic
improvement through use of AI are aimed at methods to continue to lower the number of sperm in an AI
dose and reducing the number of inseminations through use of a single, fixed-time AI
 after ovulation induction. Both approaches allow greater selection pressure for economically
important swine traits in the sires and help extend the genetic advantages through AI on to more
production farms.

A very cheap and practical way to carry out genetic improvement is through the use of artificial
insemination (AI). The strength of AI is generally dependent on the genetic superiority of the boar and
the possibility of spreading its qualities to more females to produce offsprings of better genetic quality.
The swine AI technology includes boar selection and evaluation; semen collection, evaluation, processing
and storage; estrus detection; procedure of insemination; and breeding performance evaluation.

By using AI, one ejaculate can be used to breed 10 sows on the average compared to only one when
natural mating is practiced. Other advantages of AI in pigs are the following:

1. minimizes if not totally control the spread of reproductive diseases;

2. allows the use of physically handicapped or crippled, yet genetically superior boars that cannot
normally perform natural mating;
3. avoids possible injuries on either the boar or the sow/gilt that may happen during mating;
4. infertile boars are immediately detected;
5. allows breeding of females from distant places with less transport costs and inconvenience, and without
causing travel-related stress on the boar;
6. allows small-scale raisers to keep a few sows without maintaining a boar;
7. eliminates the problem of mating boars and sows of different sizes;
8. increases the number of sows bred by a boar and the possibility of extending the boars’ productive life;
and
9. reduces breeding cost.