Experts from around the globe will travel to Ireland to participate in a major international bull fertility conference, which takes place in the Castlecourt Hotel, Westport, Co Mayo, from 27-30 May 2018. The conference will discuss the significant developments and challenges facing bull fertility, from the way genomically-assisted selection has revolutionised the dairy cattle industry to reliably predicting the fertility of individual bulls in the laboratory. Specialists from academia, veterinary practice and industry will discuss topics on male reproductive physiology, nutrition, puberty, genomics of bull fertility and the role for sexed semen.

Organisers of the event say that while science has focused on ways to improve cow fertility, research into aspects of male fertility has so far lagged behind.

“This is an exciting time in male reproduction, with the recent advances in sexed semen technology and in the identification of infertile and sub-fertile bulls. Because of the importance of milk and beef production in Ireland, it is opportune that this conference has chosen Ireland to host it”, event organisers explain.

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The conference is being organised under the auspices of the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) and involving Teagasc, University College Dublin, University of Limerick, Cattle Association of Veterinary Association (CAVI), XL Vets, British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) and the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine.

A pre-conference tour to a local dairy farm is planned for day one, followed by two days of scientific sessions, featuring renowned speakers from across the globe, including Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland and the USA. The final day of the event, Wednesday 30 May, is being devoted to practical aspects of breeding soundness evaluation and takes place in Balla Mart. This element is highlighted as being of particular interest to veterinarians interested in cattle reproduction and the conference qualifies for CPD credits.

Specific topics covered include:

  • Male reproductive physiology.
  • Optimising semen procedures.
  • AI bull fertility.
  • Sperm and seminal plasma.
  • Thermoregulation and behaviour.
  • Pathophysiology of bull subfertility.
  • Bull production, selection and evaluation.

    • Further information, including full scientific programme and registration details, are available at: https://bsas.org.uk/bull-fertility or by contacting the BSAS office by e-mail at bsas@bsas.org.uk. or by phoning 00 44 (0) 131 650 8784.