ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION ▶▶▶


Figure 2 - Opportunity for error during semen transport and reception.


Customers


• The storage unit should be placed in a room with an ambient temperature of 15–25ºC. This will allow the unit to work properly. Should the ambient temperature be 35ºC or higher, it will be very difficult to keep the storage unit at 15– 17ºC.


Semen


delivery and reception


Production units Boar stud


• Damaging components in the ambient air, like dust or hu- midity, should be avoided.


Farms


3. Arrival of the semen on-farm Arrival is a very important moment, as this is when tempera- ture maintenance meets biosecurity. It is highly advisable to construct a cabin or small room with a storage unit for preser- vation where semen doses can be left at any time, without people entering the farm. Should that not be possible, then an alert system could be in- stalled for the farm staff to step out and collect the parcel. Some scientific authors state that at least 90% of deliveries must be put in the storage unit in under 15 minutes. Nowadays there are companies with traceability systems that let producers know where their semen doses are, what the storage temperature and expected delivery time at the farm are, etc. The aim is to have constant transparency to customers on the product’s condition.


4. Proper storage on-farm The last step includes proper storage inside the farm. Several recommendations are important at this stage as well: • Storage units should be used that are specifically designed for the preservation of semen doses. They should be able to heat or cool, with a display showing the temperature (accu- racy ±1ºC) and issue an alert if the temperature is out of the desired range.


Figure 3 - Balance between boar stud - transport - farm. Farm:


Boar stud:


- What do they want? Produce seminal doses - When? At normal hours - How? Of the highest quality


- What does it want? Fresh semen - When? Early in the morning and every day - How? Of the highest quality - Where? In the cooler inside the farm


DIFFICULT BALANCE


D Transport


 - External worker - Transport company


* Research by Rodríguez-Gil and Rigau 1995. ** Schulze 2015, Bortolozzo 2017.


References available on request 26 ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 5, 2020 LAN E ANCE NCE T


Complex process All factors addressed above must be taken into account, since these days networks can be large and complex, subject to completely different scenarios depending on multiple factors. Therefore, each company should adapt to the surrounding context and adopt the necessary strategies to obtain the desired quality standards for its final product, the semen dose.


• The storage unit should be plugged into an entirely empty socket. A surge protector as well as a backup UPS battery is advised to provide additional protection in the event of a power outage or overvoltage.


• The storage unit should be equipped with thermometers that show maximum and minimum temperatures or a data logger to continuously register temperature.


• It is vital to remove the doses from their secondary packag- ing inside the storage unit, to favour air circulation and al- low stabilisation of the temperature. Placing them horizon- tally is advisable to ensure the recirculation of the air inside.


• Two storage units are better than one. This will allow agility in case one fails, e.g. in the middle of summer.


• Per semen dose, there should be about 0.5–0.6 litres of volume available in the storage unit.


Rotation of semen doses? Last but not least: rotation. A controversial topic has been that of the rotation of the semen doses. It is a practice rou- tinely carried out on farms with the aim of preventing sperm sedimentation, in a medium considered “toxic” due to the ac- cumulation of metabolic waste of the sperm cell. To date, there have been several publications dealing with the effect of rotation on the quality of semen doses. Although in the past* it was believed to be beneficial, more recent re- search** has found evidence of the negative effect that this practice can have on semen quality. It is also believed that it can favour the loss of CO2


from the liquid phase to the air in


the semen doses, leading to accelerated alkalinisation of the medium. This occurs with greater intensity with the use of short-term extenders, since buffers in their composition are simpler than in high-performance extenders.


Opportunity for error


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