Insemination Center Preska

In the Insemination Center Preska, which is operating within the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry of Slovenia –Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Ljubljana, we have been preparing the bulls semen for artificial insemination for more than 40 years.

In the center, we prepare the semen of bulls of Brown and Holstein breed as well as of bulls of beef production breeds Charolais, Limousin and Belgian Blue and the semen of Slovene indigenous breed Cika. The bulls that we are breeding in the Insemination Center Preska are descendants from the best Slovene cows and from the best semen donors in the world.

With planned insemination of the best cows, we obtain bulls that are expected to pass on the good traits of their ancestors to their own descendants. We strive for improvement of production traits in every generation and fulfill our breeding objectives this way. Artificial insemination enables us to spread the good traits among the cattle population in a very short time, as we can get several thousand female descendants from one bull in only one year.

Good fertilizing ability of semen

Good fertilizing ability of semen is required for successful artificial insemination. In the Insemination Center Preska, we strictly follow professional standards and legal requirements for processing, storage and distribution of semen. The semen is only acquired from bulls that have a high genetic value and meet the specified health conditions.

During the processing of semen, we monitor the cell count in the ejaculate, the semen is inspected by CASA, an agent that enables survival of spermatozoa during freezing and thawing is added, and in the final phase, the semen is preserved by freezing it with liquid nitrogen at the temperature of -196°C. Our final product is an insemination dose with at least 20 million of spermatozoa with proper motility, by which we exceed the minimum legally required amount by 100 % and this way we guarantee for a good fertilizing ability.

Distribution of bull semen

We also carry out the distribution of bull semen in central Slovenia. Our customers are the veterinary aid stations that inseminate cows and heifers at farms, as well as individual breeders with suitable education that meet the criteria for independent insemination of their cattle.
Next to the semen prepared in the Insemination Center Preska, we also offer our customers the semen that was prepared in two other insemination centers of Slovenia – Ptuj and Murska Sobota, we provide the insemination service with support material for insemination, liquid nitrogen for preservation of the seed, and next to that, we have a permanent offer of the semen from best bulls at the world level. We import elite bulls from USA, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium and Netherlands.

Frozen semen has an unlimited period of use if it is handled with care and constantly preserved at the temperature of -196°C in the liquid nitrogen. It is only thawed before insemination and thawed semen cannot be frozen again.

As we have already mentioned, the artificial insemination enables to quickly spread the genetic properties among the population and this way enables a good production. However, next to the good ones, also the bad traits could spread quickly. To avoid the possibility of spreading genetic diseases in the cattle population, we examine every bull for some genetic diseases (CVM, BLAD).

Janez Kunc, DVM, MSc