Assam: Sex-sorted artificial insemination of cattle launched in Dhubri

The State-Owned Priority Development (SOPD-G) scheme, has been formally introduced in the Dhubri district under the initiative of the Government of Assam to artificially breed cows using sex-sorted semen for better cattle breeds.

According to Sahjaman Ali, the district veterinary officer for Dhubri, sex-sorted semen has recently been offered for cattle firm owners, particularly interns of natural breeding because it's uncertain whether a calf will be born male or female.

But in this case, artificial insemination (AI) was used to sort the sex of the semen and has confirmed that the cow would give birth to a female calf, which will produce more milk in return and will benefit the firm owners in future.

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By using artificial insemination (AI) with semen obtained from a good breed of bulls, all the cows in the herd can be bred on the same day as opposed to needing to keep an eye out for symptoms of heat during the mating season added Ali.

In keeping with this, Dibakar Nath, the Deputy Commissioner of the Dhubri District, formally inaugurated the ceremony. 

In the meanwhile, efforts have been made to distribute 4980 sperms with defined sex among a total of 28 eligible cow breeders who were chosen for the scheme.

Nowadays many cows are bred via artificial insemination (AI) with semen collected from a good bull. This is a way to extend the benefits of a good bull or make sure heifers are bred to easy-calving bulls or utilize genetics of multiple outstanding sires without having to own them.

The process and technology—and conception rates—for AI have improved tremendously in the past 50 years, but the procedure is not new. The earliest actual documented use of artificial insemination was in 1780 when an Italian physiologist named Spallanzani produced puppies with AI in dogs.

A few more reports of successful AI breedings appeared during the 1800s, but it wasn’t until about 1900 that extensive studies with farm animals began in Russia. A scientist named Ivanov developed the technique for mares, and by 1930 he and his associates were doing artificial insemination of cattle and sheep.

“AI organizations now have portable breeding barns and technicians who can come do chute-side service for the whole operation—and get those cows all bred in a few hours,” added Ali district veterinary officer Dhubri.