Artificial insemination and dairy cow production : repercussions of biotechnology in this production sector

Abstract

One of the oldest examples of the use of biotechnology is artificial insemination with frozen sperm from bulls. It began in the 1940Õs. Use of this technique has resulted in major structural changes in dairy cow production systems. This article summarizes these some of developments ranging from the most immediate to the most indirect and extending from the creation of margins relating to the disappearance of bulls from farms to the integration of the farmer into professional networks. Farmers have become both players and beneficiaries of particularly effective collective selection programs. The changes, however, go beyond the integration of further technological innovations and collective interest considerations. We will try to demonstrate that it is not always the most direct consequences of the introduction of a new technology that have been the most important, and conclude that it is difficult to predict the potential impact of recent biotechnology developments.