Challenges to increase the AI and ET markets in Brazil

Abstract

Artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET) are the most widely used biotechnologies in the world with the goal of increasing genetic gain and improving reproductive efficiency of beef and dairy herds. The protocols for ovulation synchronization for timed AI (TAI) or ET (TET) are tools that allow artificial insemination or transfer of a high number of embryos in a pre-established moment and without the necessity of estrous detection. Currently, 86% of inseminations in Brazil are performed using TAI (13.6 million TAI out of a total of 15.4 million doses of semen marketed in 2018). With the use of TAI, it was possible to verify that the percentage of artificially inseminated females in Brazil went from 5.8% in 2002 to 13.1% in 2018. The ET market also presented considerable growth in the last 20 years. There was an increase of approximately 8 fold in the number of produced embryos, escalating from 50,000 in 1999 to 375,000 in 2017. In this period, there was a significant increase on the in vitro embryo production, which represented 92.1% of embryos produced in Brazil in 2017. Also, in this period, there was an increase on the embryo production of dairy breeds and reduction on the embryo production of zebu breeds in comparison to data from the early 2000's. TET increases significantly the number of recipients suitable to receive an embryo. After synchronization, 75 to 85% of recipients present a suitable CL for ET without estrous detection. Currently, many synchronization and resynchronization protocols for TAI/TET have been studied to attend different managements, breeds and animal categories, with predictable and satisfactory results. With the intensification of the use of these biotechnologies, it is possible to obtain elevated reproductive efficiency with increase on the genetic gain, which determines greater productivity and economic return for dairy and beef farms. However, the challenge to keep the market growing in the next decade could depend on some factors, such as: increase of the extension services for producers and of the extension training for specialists, improvement of the technological advances to develop more efficient and cost-effective products and practical protocols, increase the integration between universities, research institutes, veterinarians and industries and also, asses market demand for production of animal protein with higher quality, efficiency and environmental and economic sustainability.

Characterization of vaginal microbiota associated with pregnancy outcomes of artificial insemination in dairy cows

“…Therefore the profitability of the dairy and beef industries, especially in the intensive production farms, has been largely affected by their achieved reproductive efficiencies [2]. Currently, a considerable proportion of cows, or roughly 80% of dairy cattle in the United States, 75% in Canada and China, 35% in India and 20% in Brazil, are bred by artificial insemination (AI) service, which has a history of more than 100 years in terms of technological possibility and 50 years of commercial operation [3][4][5][6]. Despite the extremely wide applications of AI technology, there are a dozen known and unknown factors associated with the served cows that could directly or indirectly affect the pregnancy outcomes of AI service [7].…”

Custo e eficiência da técnica de múltipla ovulação e transferência de embriões em ovinos ao longo de quatro anos: Influência da capacitação do médico-veterinário

“…Sendo assim, a experiência profissional é um fator essencial para o desenvolvimento de um programa de MOTE bem-sucedido (Phillips & Janke, 2016) com consequente expansão da técnica e maior retorno financeiro para o produtor (Baruselli et al, 2019).…”

Determinants of artificial insemination use in cattle in northern Sinaloa, Mexico

“…In Mexico and other countries, 4-15% of the farmers use this technology (Kubkomawa, 2018;Baruselli et al, 2019;Lassala et al, 2020). In the state of Sinaloa, "livestock is based on undefined crossbreds and it is not focused on productive improvement, which results in low-weight calves at birth, low fattening performance, and low-quality carcasses" (Casillas, 2012, p. 8).…”