The Place of Artificial Insemination

What economic consequences can we expect from the expanding use of artificial insemination with dairy cattle? One result surely will be a reduction in the number of bulls on farms and correspondingly more cows on the farms where bulls are no longer required. Improved feeding and management practices will come through better keeping of records and contacts with technicians and other farmers. The health and fertility of animals should improve, along with the genetic make-up of herds. Regional specialization in the raising of dairy heifers is likely to be stimulated. There may be a tendency for a larger proportion of producers in deficit feed areas to buy replacements from areas where feed supplies are abundant, and buyers should be able to purchase heifers in carload lots from artificial breeding associations.

The various advantages of artificial insemination over natural mating, mentioned often enough, lead some persons here and abroad to be too enthusiastic about its use. But it cannot be said too often that the primary purpose of the technique is to speed up the rate of livestock improvement. To accomplish this, farmers must use sires that are genetically superior to the females to which they are to be bred.

Another point : These superior bulls must be used in a breeding program adapted to the farmer's locality. That means that adaptability must be considered when the technique is used in areas where the environment imposes limitations on livestock production. Sires well suited for use in New York or Wisconsin, for example, may not be adapted to use in some other areas where climate and feed supplies limit production. We have heard much discussion about possibilities of using artificial insemination to introduce improved stock quickly and on a large scale in countries or areas where the existing animals are relatively unproductive. If the animals are unproductive because of conditions imposed by nature, the widespread introduction of improved stock from more favorable environments may be a hazardous undertaking. Animals resulting from the first cross between improved stock and animals containing somewhat larger proportions of improved blood often perform satisfactorily under these conditions, while higher grade animals do not.

Any large-scale program involving the introduction of new types into areas of rigorous environment, employing either artificial or natural mating, should be based on experimental work designed to determine the amount of improved blood that may be safely introduced and the method of breeding best suited to those conditions.

THEAUTHOR

Ralph W. Phillips, who was formerly in charge of genetics investigations in the Bureau of Animal Industry, is now on the staff of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.