British Simmental Review 2018

IVP: cost effective
and welfare friendly
In-Vitro embryo Production (IVP) is proving to be a
cost-effective welfare friendly service for an expanding
number of pedigree beef breeders. Offered by specialist
artificial breeding technology company AB Europe,
the process combines donor oocyte (eggs) collection,
maturation and fertilisation, followed by a culture period
and then either transfer or freezing of subsequent
embryos.
AB Europe vet, Gavin Tait outlines what pedigree
breeders can expect.
• The IVP process is currently averaging approximately 10
oocytes (unfertilized eggs) per donor.
• IVP averages two to three embryos per donor each
collection depending on cow, management and season.
• Collections can be done every week, compared to
MOET flushing where a collection occurs once a month.
• We can collect from a cow in around 15 minutes -
setting up takes most of the time, so it’s a relatively
quick process.
• Multiple bulls can be used over one donor depending
on oocyte numbers.
• Collections can be done four weeks post calving, and
with pregnant donors up to 12 weeks of gestation.
• There is no line up programme or need for drug use
or FSH in the donors who tend to get back in calf very
easily.
• Some cows are consistently producing four or more
embryos every week, others will produce between
one and two. Occasionally we also will produce 12 or
more usable embryos in one week. Cows tend to be
consistent in the
number of oocytes
/ embryos they
produce each week -
it is possible to select
high yielders.
• Semen is vital to
the programme’s
success. Once we
identify a batch
which works well,
it will tend to do
so consistently,
and vice versa.
We may be able
to help advise
on ‘good’ or ‘bad’
batches of semen
based on previous
experience.
Gavin Tait
Robert Macgregor
is amongst a
growing number of
Simmental breeders
who are successfully
using IVP to exploit
some of their herd’s
best genetics. So far,
he has implanted 10
embryos resulting
in four live calves by
Team Celtic 11 - three bulls and one heifer,
and he says he found the process to be simple,
welfare friendly and cost effective.
“IVP was very straight forward. No prep was
required, no drugs, no line up, no stress. We simply
brought the two cows in from the paddock, Gavin
turned up and the job was done within 60 minutes.
The collection resulted in 35 oocytes in total; we
used three different bulls. The overall result was 11
embryos; we froze them until the recipients were
ready; we implanted in 10 heifers and achieved the
four calves.”
Robert says IVP’s advanced technology is
enabling him to draw on some of the best
Simmentals from his Team herd of 70 breeding
females based at Kirkton of Mailer, Perth.
“Team Misty 5 was one of the two donors;
she is amongst the best females I’ve bred since I
established the herd 30 years ago - she is within
the breed’s top 5%, a Royal Highland reserve junior
interbreed champion and one of her bull calves
made 5,000gns. A point came when she wouldn’t
hold, I tried MOET which proved to be unsuccessful,
and she was ready to go away when I heard about
and moved on to IVP.
“The two bulls we used over the collection
included Team Celtic 11 who is also within the
breed’s top 1% and trait leader for 200, 400 and 600
day weights; we sold him to Wolfstar for 11,000gns
in 2012, and Celtic’s first eight sons sold at auction
averaged 10,500gns.
“The three IVP bulls by Team Celtic 11 are
scheduled for Stirling in 2019, and we anticipate
there will be considerable interest.” He adds:
“Overall, the project has been such a success, we
have had no hesitation agreeing to take a second
collection from Misty in 2019.”
048 www.britishsimmental.co.uk