Volume 12: Livestock Farming
5. Breeding programmes and techniques
Introduction

5.1 The emergence of BSE raised questions about whether the disease was attributable to modern breeding programmes and techniques, and, if so, whether any precautions or controls were needed. This chapter looks at the breeding policies that have led to the current makeup of the UK cattle population, which involves a brief discussion of the roles of the MLC and Milk Marketing Boards in livestock breeding and improvement. It describes the commonly used cattle breeding techniques of artificial insemination (AI) - there are well over two million inseminations in the UK each year - and embryo transfer, which generates around 10,000 calves per year. The chapter also describes how the cow's breeding cycle can be manipulated by using injections of external hormones to ensure conception.