Gettin Jiggy With It!

  Ah the joys of spring! All the dreadful snow is gone, the sun's a shinin' and well it's time to make babies! Most farms strategically plan the time of the year they breed their females so all the calves come at one time that works best for their operation. Most commonly people use bulls(males) to breed their females.
  However as the times changed, along with technology, so did many breeding programs. Artificial Insemination has become a very popular technique when breeding season rolls around. It has rapidly changed the speed in which a farmer can increase the size and quality of their herd. You wait until the cow is at the right tme of her cycle to be bred, similar to when people plan the time they would try to get "prego". The process is no walk in the park, it takes an experienced technician. It is very similar to the process a human would take if a doctor's assistance would be required to conceive a child.

   The semen or embryos are stored in a large tank filled with liquid nitrogen to keep them frozen.

the semen is held in a protective "soda pop" straw like tubes.

The Semen is then put into a thawing bath and inserted into a "semen gun".

The technician uses the gun to help the semen reach the uterine horns (fallopian tubes). And that, my friends, is how babies are made in the artificial insemination world. Within 283-286 days you will have a new calf!