World meat industry news

The first commercial genetic center for swine artificial insemination will be launched in Russia in 2022, announced Natalia Kristensen, the Head of the Genetics Sales Department of Otrada Farms.

“In 2022, we are launching the first commercial boar plant for the production of the PIC Danish type sires. We will deliver 250 boars in one go. This is the first stage and it will allow us to produce 350,000 seminal doses per year”, she said.

At the next stage, we plan to increase the pig production up to 500 heads, which will allow us to produce up to 700,000 seminal doses per year.

“We will use traditional breeds such ad Landrace, Yorkshire and Duroc Mix”, added Natalia Kristensen.

The center will be located in the Lipetskaya Oblast. The regional government recently stated that the investments in the project are forecast to exceed 350 million rubles.

The facility will be equipped with the IMV Technologies equipment. Special attention will be given to the biosafety. The transfer of semen from the laboratory and the production site will be arranged via an underground pipe. This will enable to rule out the risk of human exposure and prevent the introduction of dangerous diseases. “This approach will help us to significantly enhance the biosafety”, said Natalia Kristensen.

Each semen batch will be checked for the presence of dangerous animal diseases, primarily African swine fever (ASF) and the reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). In addition, semen quality reports will be generated prior to shipment.