In this two year project, a team of farmers and veterinarians are investigating a farmer-friendly, low cost artificial insemination (AI) technique.  Although numerous research studies have been conducted on AI in sheep, the application of AI at the farmer level is limited.  Such knowledge would allow large segments of the sheep industry to make genetic progress similar to other livestock industries. AI is currently being used in other livestock species with tremendous success by allowing semen from high quality sires to be disseminated over larger populations of females allowing for faster genetic progress with decreased biosecurity risk.

AI in sheep is inherently more complicated due to difficulty in preserving the ram’s semen and the anatomic complexity of the ewe’s cervix.  Team members will be trained on proper collection and handling of semen, as well as vaginal insemination techniques.  Conception rates will be monitored over two years.

Semen extenders are used to dilute the semen, allowing it to effectively cover more ewes, as well as provide nutrients for the sperm and protect against chilling, thus extending the viability of the semen. One of the challenges with sheep is that ram semen has proven difficult to extend beyond 24 hours in the past, making shipment of fresh semen for long distances impractical.  The team will use recent research and new extenders, to extend the viability of fresh semen beyond 24 hours which would allow more options for use.