Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Embryo Transfer  (Read 5827 times)

Victorian Farmer

  • Guest
Re: Embryo Transfer
« Reply #15 on: July 01, 2015, 01:29:56 pm »
In the borders there is a farm that has the world record Ram and also 3 more that cost over 90000 some stock .And all the 300 ewes are the same of 1 ram .

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Embryo Transfer
« Reply #16 on: July 01, 2015, 01:50:19 pm »
One hears of tups being bought for silly money by a consortium, stripped for AI, then dying.

Wonder if the insurance payout recognises the revenue from the semen...  :innocent:
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: Embryo Transfer
« Reply #17 on: July 01, 2015, 03:03:44 pm »
Problem is more long term, in my view.  If the same semen is used on many ewes, no matter how good the ram, then you're narrowing the gene pool.  I think our understanding of genetics is just beginning. Who knows how many valuable traits were lost when scrapie testing was introduced?  If you look at the genetics of black-and-white dairy cattle the same sire names crop up again and again. 

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Embryo Transfer
« Reply #18 on: July 01, 2015, 04:03:31 pm »
All the more reason to be supporting the RBST, and keeping the old breeds going so we've a gene pool to go back to.

But of course, RBST are another big user of embryo transfer...  :thinking:
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

nutterly_uts

  • Joined Jul 2014
  • Jersey - for now :)
Re: Embryo Transfer
« Reply #19 on: July 01, 2015, 10:02:05 pm »
AI is common here in Jersey (not sure on ET) because the whole island is essentially a closed herd. Now the semen ban is lifted, its meant genetics that left the island years ago can be brought back and has helped to protect the herd a bit more.
Foot and Mouth was terrifying with the potential it had but AI has made it much less risky if something similar happens again

I do think though that ET might have been more common before the ban was lifted because there are definitely less desirable bloodlines within the herds that have less value in milk and money terms, now these girls are being put to british blue and angus but previously I don't know.

Treud na Mara

  • Joined Mar 2014
  • East Clyh, Caithness
  • Living the dream in Caithness
Re: Embryo Transfer
« Reply #20 on: July 01, 2015, 11:11:24 pm »
I know from my browsing of an Icelandic Sheep keepers group that in the States they use AI quite a lot to maintain diversity in their flocks. And I can see the attraction too here as there are so few bloodlines if you want to keep the offspring 100% Icelandic. They also use AI to select for the leader gene which is very important when dealing with the sort of predators they are up against. They mostly get the semen from Iceland it seems. Although I can see the advantages, I must say I would rather have an animal than a straw of fluid.
With 1 Angora and now 6 pygmy goats, Jacob & Icelandic sheep, chooks, a cat and my very own Duracell bunny aka BH !

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Embryo Transfer
« Reply #21 on: July 02, 2015, 06:27:42 pm »
As I understand it, they use AI almost exclusively in Iceland.  The reason being that there were some problems with disease spreading between flocks, so now there is no movement of rams.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

 

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