Integris Beef

08/04/2023

S***m morphology refers to the size, shape, and structure of s***m cells. It is an essential aspect of evaluating male fertility, as abnormalities in morphology can have a significant impact on the ability of s***m to fertilize an egg. S***m cells are extremely small, measuring only a few microns in length. However, within this tiny size, there is a lot of variation in shape and structure....

S***m morphology refers to the size, shape, and structure of s***m cells. It is an essential aspect of evaluating male fertility, as abnormalities in morphology can have a significant impact on the…

14/11/2022

Pseudodroplet Defects
These are defects of the mitochondrial sheath which appear as a thickening somewhere along the length of the midpiece, they are often associated with a bend or a fracture at the same sight. Theses defects often appear to have granules or vacuoles within them. Many of these can be seen with EN stains but phase contrast allows visualization and differentiation from cytoplasmic droplets when encountering the more subtle defects. As seen in these images, fractures and irregular mitochondrial helixes may also be observed in other s***m in affected bulls.
Pseudodroplets appearance ranged from 7-26% in one study and up to 37% seen in another. This defect increased with age in affected bulls. Inheritance is suspected.

05/11/2022

Mobile lab in a utility trailer for bull breeding soundness exams. Helps keep every organized and the sun and dust out.

02/11/2022

Bull s***m morphology testing, more than a one or two minute chute side semen assessment. Australia is leading the world in ways we can improve herd reproductive efficiency.

In this contributed item, Angus seedstock producer Sally White from Guyra expresses some strong opinions about the value of morphology testing in sale bulls. She identifies the direct cost to seedstock producers of culling those bulls which fail s***m morphology testing from their sale drafts, as a....

29/10/2022

The power of being curious: I look at this tree and wounder; how did it get started in this desert? How does it survive where it is literally growing out of the cracks in the rock? Will it ever grow much larger?
I was able to gather semen samples from 120 bulls being tested by another veterinarian. I did a s***m morphological evaluation on each. My results were vastly different than the results reported by the attending veterinarian. The "pass" rate I found would have been less than 30%. Why the vast difference? Were my results accurate? Assuming they were, why did these bulls perform so poorly? With so much on the line for the seedstock producer, how do you move the needle to get them to accept a more rigorous evaluation? How do we help the producer improve results for next year? Would this be a rare or common occurrence to have vast differences if we did similar comparisons with other veterinarians and bull herds preparing for sale?
I have my ideas, what are yours? I am curious to know what others think. I will share my thought on future posts.

29/07/2022

Fertile Friday
Bull’s influence on the number one herd economic trait.
If you can clearly see the majority of a s***m head, yet the tale is not visible, the part out of image is normal. How many morphologically normal s***m? How many abnormal? How many total s***m? Now how many total abnormalities? Bonus if you can name each. Oh yah, you only have 15 seconds: GO!

22/07/2022

Fertile Friday
Bull’s influence on the number one herd economic trait.
Seasonal influences of bull fertility: Cattle are not seasonal breeders, however, parts of the world that have seasons do see the influences of season on fertility. In 1942 Andres & Hilton found that July, August, & September semen volume, motility, and morphology were the least of any other time of the year. Short photoperiod also has a strong effect on bull semen quality as it affects testosterone production. May and June tend to be the best months for bull fertility in the Norther hemisphere. The best months for a bull’s semen having the highest volume, concentration, motility, and morphology is May – June in the spring and early summer. To help optimize pregnancy rates using AI, this may be a consideration to collect bulls when they are at their best.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030242953438, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/animal/article/review-the-use-of-bull-breeding-soundness-evaluation-to-identify-subfertile-and-infertile-bulls/CE2624EE8909E32E5FF5E62210612C86

Review: The use of bull breeding soundness evaluation to identify subfertile and infertile bulls - Volume 12 Issue s1

15/07/2022

Fertile Friday
Bull’s influence on the number one herd economic trait.
Summer heat and bull fertility: Most of us are all aware that high temperatures can adversely affect bull s***m. Helping cattle stay cool and acclimate to hot temperatures is important for reproduction. It is interesting that the first negative effects of heat are not seen as morphologically abnormal s***m, but rather mild to moderate heat can negatively impact meiosis and chromatin remodeling. Therefore, negative reproductive effects of heat can go undetected with our common s***m evaluation techniques. It is also interesting to note that heat during the last few months of pregnancy in the cow can affect bull calf growth. This has been shown to decrease growth rates and early calf development, in turn negatively impact the bull’s reproductive abilities later in life.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0093691X20302983?via%3Dihub

08/07/2022

Fertile Friday
Bull’s influence on the number one herd economic trait.
Perhaps the most important time in a bull’s life where nutrition will play a lasting positive effect on fertility is prior to weaning. Calfhood nutrition effects age at puberty and te**is size. Improved nutrition increase LH secretion from 8 to 16 weeks of age and tends to drive Sertoli cell multiplication which ceases at 20-25 weeks of age. Sertoli cells are the nurse cell of s***m development helping in the production of s***m. Improving bull calf nutrition therefore increases the number of Sertoli cells produced, increasing lifetime testicular size and s***m production while also speeding the time to sexual maturity.

21/06/2022

ASKING FOR HELP! I need to learn more about your bull breeding soundness exam process, what is working and what is not. Many veterinarians often feel like they are struggling to give producers the results they expect. At the same time, spend the time needed to do a thorough morphological evaluation with a high-quality microscope, then completely explain the possible causes when bulls don’t pass, guide producers to help improve results, recheck at the right time based on morphological results, help improve herd fertility, and do all this at the price points that make sense?
I’m looking to interview veterinarians, who do bull breeding soundness exams, for a research project I’m working on. It would mean the world to me if we could hop on a call, and I could ask you some questions. OR if you know of someone who fits this description, please tag them below/introduce me. Comment below and I’ll shoot you a DM to set up the call!

19/03/2022

22/01/2022

Bull seed stock producers are often put off by veterinarians who they feel “fail” too many bulls. They select the veterinary evaluator based on the number of bulls that are classified as satisfactory rather than attention to detail, quality of equipment, and performing a complete morphological evaluation. This leads many veterinarians who only estimate s***m morphology and seldom spend more than a minute evaluating the ej*****te with the microscope. A study in Australia shows that there can be a wide range in the percent bulls passing the breeding soundness exam, based on the breed and management. This can range from 10% - over 40% of bulls that do not meet the grade. Breeders who use a quality morphological evaluation to select for this positive trait have been able to improve the quality of semen in bull herd. This means less problems with the number of cull bulls and leads to improved reproductive performance in the herds the better bulls are used in.

In some breeds, 38 to 50pc of bulls fail morphology tests: research.

16/01/2022

Had to share. What is this I found in this ej*****te?

07/01/2022

Small apical and small vacuoles. I have to admit, I use to never see these, I even thought I had a pretty good microscope at that time.

24/12/2021

Bull fertility is quite complicated. A study from the 70s estimated that a s***miogram could only account for 60% of a bulls observed fertility. To top that off, the s***miogram can change over time based on epigenetics, stresses, temperature, time of year and more. The best part of this; there are therefore dozens of ways we can learn and improve both how we perform our breeding soundness evaluations and improve bull fertility for increased reproductive efficiency in our herds! What thoughts do you have?

21/12/2021

Cytoplasmic droplets & pseudodroplets. It is easy to see the difference in many cases, others not quite as easy. I have understood that EN stains with a light microscope can not distinguish the difference. Any insights on a sure way to always put these into the correct morphological label? Going in order what do you think these are?

17/12/2021

This is an illustration to show how diadem defects can range significantly in size and the intensity or contrast between the vacuole and the area around it. This leads me to believe that seeing diadem defects should not be interpreted as seeing all of them. If the smaller one was by itself or even the same size and more than one, would you be able to see it with your microscope? How would you know if you are seeing these or not?

16/12/2021

If you have not see diadem defects for a while it is time to clean, fix, or get a new microscope. Does this mean we should use this idea as a way to gage if our microscope is good enough? Where did this come from and are their any research papers that studied this. Please help by joining a conversation, thanks.

09/12/2021

"The Role of S***m Morphology Standards in the Laboratory Assessment of Bull Fertility in Australia" This is an excellent article. We need better bull s***m morphology standards, we can and must do better. here in the U.S. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8187580/

14/11/2021

Interested in a great book? I loved "Think Again" by Adam Grant. It is a great reminder that science and us with in the science fields need to remember that we need to question what we think we know. https://www.adamgrant.net/book/think-again/

Think Again examines the critical art of rethinking: learning to question your opinions and open other people’s minds.

30/04/2021

"Conflicts of interest occur when people make decisions that are biased by their personal goals, in neglect of obligations to others." "The brain is not compartmentalized enough for people to be able to separate out their personal interests from their professional duties."
Bull producers need bulls to "pass" the breeding soundness exam in order to sell the bulls. Is it any wonder they will select the veterinarian who "passes" the most bulls. Is it any wonder many veterinarians do not perform a complete morphological evaluation with quality equipment when our rewards are not to do a great job.
"Professional decision-makers might think that they are carrying out their responsibilities, but all people are subject to the bias that we tend to remember, look for, and apply information that serves our personal goals." https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hot-thought/201701/what-s-wrong-conflicts-interest

Conflicts of interest produce motivated inferences that violate moral duties.

28/01/2021

The 2nd image is a Z-stack (3 images), same image as the first. How would you classify these 7 s***matozoa, differentiating the total number of morphological normal or abnormalities?

16/01/2021

One of my favorite short quotes: "You don't know what you don't know." I think it is also valid to say "you can't see what you can't see." Early in my veterinary career I purchase a microscope specifically for semen evaluation, that is what it was advertised for. I would have never seen the small the smaller diadem vacuoles. Equipment matters!

09/01/2021

09/01/2021

Guarantee fertile bull dilemma: Bull producers want to offer great bulls that will perform, buyers are after the same. Normal bull morphology is dynamic. The percent of normal s***m can raise and fall in only a few weeks. This may be due to many management and environmental factors combined with or with out genetic influences. Who is responsible?

09/09/2020

Select for and create bulls with higher fertility - Integris Bulls

05/09/2020

Reproductive efficiency is 5 X more important than growth. You need Integris Bulls