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AUTUMN 2015 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
2 0
SEMENRATE
Table 1: Results of initial survey data from AI flasks across North Yorkshire farms.
% Viable % Polarised
% Intact
% Motile % Prog
mitochondria Acrosome
Motile
Min
18.80
11.25
10.34
13.10 3
Max
65.22
72.50
68.82
63.80 51.60
Mean
43.86
39.33
36.53
38.46 25.04
Table 2: Summary of results from second stage of project (n= 48)
% Viable % Polarised
% Intact
% Motile % Prog
mitochondria Acrosome
Motile
Min
10.3
4.30
5.38
1.40 0
Max
89.94
91.56
87.44
89
75.50
Mean
50.65
44.9
41.79
47.51 35.65
Collecting Data for diagnosis
The second stage of the project involved the
XLVets network of practices who sent samples
that had been collected on farm as part of
breeding soundness examinations and then
diluted with semen extender into the lab. This
helped to establish the feasibility of this
process where the CASA and flow cytometry
could be used to enhance and reinforce what
the vet had found at the time of the collection,
the results are shown in
Table 2
.
The results from the project and market
research done indicated to the RAFT
Solutions team that there is a commercial
role within the cattle farming and veterinary
industries. It was therefore decided to
launch this service ‘SemenRate’.
SemenRate can provide veterinary
practitioners with extra information
alongside their on-farm evaluations to
reinforce diagnosis for:
•
Pre-sale fertility testing for bulls both
dairy and beef which are to be sold
for breeding (giving confidence to both
buyer and seller alike).
•
Infertility investigations in a natural
service situation - to help include/
eliminate the male from the equation.
•
Investigation of poor performance of
advanced breeding programmes
e.g. ET or AI.
The SemenRate laboratory can provide a
service to farmers to:
•
Screen batches of semen prior to use,
especially where there are concerns as
to the cold chain, transport and handling
of semen prior to arriving on the farm.
•
Proactive screening/selection of semen
prior to advanced breeding programmes
to maximise chance of positive results.
YorkshireWagyu
The Yorkshire Wagyu company rears Wagyu cross dairy calves
through to finishing at 22 – 24 months of age, when the meat
is then marketed to top quality restaurants and pubs. Wagyu
meat is renowned for its eating quality due to the intense
marbling that it possesses.
Case study
Wagyu Bull
The Yorkshire Wagyu Company sells Fullblood
Wagyu bulls or Fullblood Wagyu AI semen
collected from their own bull to dairy farms
and in return buys the calves back to rear
and finish. This relationship relies on them
providing highly fertile bulls or AI semen so
that the fertility performance on the dairy farms
is optimal and the supply of Wagyu calves
back to Yorkshire Wagyu is constant.
With this in mind the first crop of six full blood
Wagyu bulls that were going to be available
to serve dairy females had a standard bull
breeding soundness examination performed,
and the semen collected was analysed
through the SemenRate laboratory using
CASA and Flow Cytometry.
The results of the analysis proved to be
extremely useful as the standard breeding
soundness evaluations did not reveal
abnormal findings, in terms of mass motility,
progressive motility or morphology. However
motility when analysed back in the
SemenRate laboratory revealed that
compared with the other five bulls one bull‘s
(Figure 1, Bull A)
progressive motility had
decreased significantly compared with
on-farm evaluation, whilst the others had
remained consistent with on-farm findings.
Also through the flow cytometer analysis
this sample was identified as having a
high proportion of disrupted acrosomal
membranes that were not detectable
through standard microscopy.
As a result of these evaluations it was
possible to select the bulls that were likely
to perform best in a natural service situation
(Figure 2, Bull B)
and therefore use them first,
and retain the bulls that had not
performed well in the analysis for re-testing
in a further 60 days. Going forward
Yorkshire Wagyu have a commitment to
using SemenRate to ensure bulls they
supply are as fertile as they should be.
Figure 1: SemenRate laboratory results for Bull A
% Morph Normal
% Prog Motile
% Motile
% Viable & Intact
Acrosome
% Polarised
Mitochondria
% Viable
0 20 40 60 80 100
69.5
28.5
32.7
9.8
81.28
28.86
Figure 2: SemenRate laboratory results for Bull B
% Morph Normal
% Prog Motile
% Motile
% Viable & Intact
Acrosome
% Polarised
Mitochondria
% Viable
0 20 40 60 80 100
58.02
76.6
90.8
86.62
90
92.2