Evolution of Our Cows

Breeding

Artificial breeding begins

In the late 1930s, articles started popping up in The Dairy Exporter about the use of artificial insemination overseas and how the technology could potentially be developed in New Zealand.

The Dairy Exporter editor visited England in 1938, and wrote, ‘Provided the technique is carried out along the correct lines, this is a very simple process, involving very little training’.

Another Dairy Exporter writer who travelled to England in 1939 wrote, ‘There is no reason why the microscopical examination of semen should not become a routine practice in New Zealand in the case of the sale of our best bulls.’

While the initial technology popped up overseas, New Zealand farmers were eager to adopt it and artificial breeding research started.