Recent Advances in Swine Reproduction

Accurate estrus detection is an essential component of a successful breeding program in modern swine operations. It is labor intensive, time consuming, and an economically important aspect of the production system. Over the last 20 to 30 years, swine production systems have changed: there are fewer farms, with these farms holding larger numbers of breeding females. Along with this restructuring in the swine industry, application of techniques to improve reproductive efficiency and controlled breeding has occurred.1 Some of the assisted reproductive techniques now commonly utilized in modern swine operations include artificial insemination, hormonal induction of estrus in gilts, estrus synchronization of sows and gilts, and B-mode ultrasonography.2-5 Even with the addition of all of these technologies, prediction of ovulation is limited to a range of hours and is still considered a challenge for the swine industry.

In recent years, there have been several advances that have been made to improve the reproductive efficiency of the pig and increase the accuracy of inseminating at the proper time. Some of these advanced techniques include: induction of ovulation, fixed-time artificial insemination, deep uterine and post-cervical insemination, and cryopreservation of semen. These advanced techniques will be presented in this article as well as some discussion regarding production of porcine embryos and embryo transfer.  […]