Reproductive performance of Norwegian cattle from 1985 to 2005: trends and seasonality

Refsdal, A. O.

doi:10.1186/1751-0147-49-5

Cited by 28 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Moreover, the month at which the AIs were performed significantly influenced NRR. These results are in compliance with fertility recording in Norway [20][21][22]. Fertility in NRF is high compared to other cattle breeds [23] mainly because of having emphasized fertility performance in the NRF breeding program for decades [24,25].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Use of immobilized cryopreserved bovine semen in a blind artificial insemination trial

et al. 2015

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To make timing of artificial insemination (AI) relative to ovulation less critical, methods for prolonging shelf life of spermatozoa in vivo after AI have been attempted to be developed. Encapsulation of sperm cells is a documented technology, and recently, a technology in which sperm cells are embedded in alginate gel has been introduced and commercialized. In this study, standard processed semen with the Biladyl extender (control) was compared with semen processed by sperm immobilization technology developed by SpermVital AS in a blind field trial. Moreover, in vitro acrosome and plasma membrane integrity was assessed and compared with AI fertility data for possible correlation. Semen from 16 Norwegian Red young bulls with unknown fertility was collected and processed after splitting the semen in two aliquots. These aliquots were processed with the standard Biladyl extender or the SpermVital extender to a final number of 12 × 10(6) and 25 × 10(6) spermatozoa/dose, respectively. In total, 2000 semen doses were produced from each bull, divided equally by treatment. Artificial insemination doses were set up to design a blinded AI regime; 5 + 5 straws from each extender within ejaculates in ten-straw goblets were distributed to AI technicians and veterinarians all over Norway. Outcomes of the inseminations were measured as 56-day nonreturn rate (NRR). Postthaw sperm quality was assessed by flow cytometry using propidium iodide and Alexa 488-conjugated peanut agglutinin to assess the proportion of plasma membrane and acrosome-intact sperm cells, respectively. In total, data from 14,125 first inseminations performed over a 12-month period, 7081 with Biladyl and 7044 with SpermVital semen, were used in the statistical analyses. There was no significant difference in 56-day NRR for the two semen categories, overall NRR being 72.5% and 72.7% for Biladyl and SpermVital, respectively. The flow cytometric results revealed a significant higher level of acrosome-intact live spermatozoa in Biladyl-processed semen compared to SpermVital semen. The results indicate that the level of acrosome-intact live spermatozoa in the AI dose did not affect the 56-day NRR for the two semen processing methods. In conclusion, this study has showed that immobilized spermatozoa provide equal fertility results as standard processed semen when AI is performed in a blinded field trial, although the immobilization procedure caused increased sperm damage evaluated in vitro compared to standard semen processing procedure.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Use of immobilized cryopreserved bovine semen in a blind artificial insemination trial

et al. 2015

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“…Fertility in the NR population in Norway is high, with a review of fertility data collected between 1985 and 2005 indicating that 60-d nonreturn rates after a single insemination increased from 68.1 to 72.7% during this period, whereas the number of services per inseminated animals decreased from 1.8 to 1.6 (Refsdal, 2007). In a more recent analysis of data from a smaller population in Norway (n = 829 animals), Garmo et al (2008) recorded 6-d nonreturn rates for heifers, first-lactation, second-lactation, and greater-than-second-lactation cows of 76.9, 67.1, 69.9, and 76.2%, respectively, and overall pregnancy incidence after first AI of 70.0, 58.2, 61.6, and 64.9%, respectively.…”

Section: Fertilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Calving traits, milk production, body condition, fertility, and survival of Holstein-Friesian and Norwegian Red dairy cattle on commercial dairy farms over 5 lactations

Ferris

Patterson

Gordon

et al. 2014

Journal of Dairy Science

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The objective of this study was to compare calving traits, BCS, milk production, fertility, and survival of Holstein-Friesian (HF) and Norwegian Red (NR) dairy cattle in moderate-concentrate input systems. The experiment was conducted on 19 commercial Northern Ireland dairy farms, and involved 221 HF cows and 221 NR cows. Cows completed 5 lactations during the experiment, unless they died or were culled or sold. Norwegian Red cows had a lower calving difficulty score than HF cows when calving for the first and second time, but not for the third and fourth time. At first calving, the incidence of stillbirths for NR cows was 4%, compared with 13% for HF cows, whereas no difference existed between breeds in the proportion of calves born alive when calving for the second time. When calving for the first time, NR cows had a poorer milking temperament than HF cows, whereas milking temperament was unaffected by breed following the second calving. Holstein-Friesian cows had a higher full-lactation milk yield than NR cows, whereas NR cows produced milk with a higher milk fat and protein content. Full-lactation fat + protein yield was unaffected by genotype. Norwegian Red cows had a lower somatic cell score than HF cows during all lactations. Although NR cattle had a higher BCS than the HF cows during lactations 1 and 2, no evidence existed that the 2 genotypes either lost or gained body condition at different rates. Conception rates to first artificial insemination were higher with the NR cows during lactations 1 to 4 (57.8 vs. 40.9%, respectively), with 28.5% of HF cows and 11.8% of NR cows culled as infertile before lactation 6. A greater percentage of NR cows calved for a sixth time compared with HF cows (27.2 vs. 16.3%, respectively). In general, NR cows outperformed HF cows in traits that have been historically included in the NR breeding program.

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“…Pregnancy rate is considered to be the key reproductive performance indicator. Decreases in reproductive performance have also been reported elsewhere in the United States, Europe, and Australia (Lucy, 2001 ), but exceptions exist (Refsdal, 2007 ).…”

Section: Comparisons Of Reproductive Programsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Economics of Reproductive Performance

Vries

2011

Dairy Production Medicine

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Reproduction provides the next generation of females and initiates milk production after calving. Reproductive performance in dairy cattle declined for at least 40 years while milk production increased. Timed artifi cial insemination (timed AI) programs are popular in the United States, in addition to AI based on estrus detection and the use of natural service bulls. Timed AI programs are typically profi table compared with programs based on estrus detection in both heifers and cows. An increase in pregnancy rate from 16% to 17% is worth approximately $18 per cow per year, with a greater marginal value when pregnancy rate is lower. The cost of an extra day nonpregnant may be $2.50, with a lower cost early in lactation and a greater cost later in lactation. The optimum interval from calving to conception is approximately 133 days for fi rst parity cows and 2 -3 weeks shorter for later parity cows. First inseminations should be approximately 5 weeks before the optimum time of conception. The average value of a new pregnancy, $278, is also lower early in lactation and peaks around the middle of lactation. Abortion costs on average are $555, with greater cost later in gestation and later in lactation. The economics of reproductive performance are farmand animal -dependent.

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Reproductive performance of Norwegian cattle from 1985 to 2005: trends and seasonality

Cited by 28 publications

References 21 publications

Use of immobilized cryopreserved bovine semen in a blind artificial insemination trial

Use of immobilized cryopreserved bovine semen in a blind artificial insemination trial

Calving traits, milk production, body condition, fertility, and survival of Holstein-Friesian and Norwegian Red dairy cattle on commercial dairy farms over 5 lactations

Economics of Reproductive Performance

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