Authors: Jakeline Vieira Romero (jakromero@unizar.es) and Virginia C. Resconi (resconi@unizar.es); – UNIZAR
This demonstration was carried out on May 12, 2021 with a group of farmers, advisors, technicians, researchers and students at the experimental farm located in Bescós (Aragón, Spain). The event was organized by Cita-Aragón and the University of Zaragoza, involving a presentation by an expert on bull reproduction and some practical advices given by a veterinarian carrying out bull evaluations on farms.
José A. García Paloma, researcher at SERIDA (Regional Service for Agrifood Research and Development), presented the result of a methodology agreed upon by different stakeholders in Spain for the standardized evaluation of bulls in Spain, called The VART Guide. His presentation was recorded (in Spanish) and is available:
Afterwards, in the farm with some bulls from the farm, the researcher together with the veterinary Pablo Banzo from the Association of Bovine Cattle Breeders Parda de Montaña (ARAPARDA - Asociación de Criadores de Raza Bovina Parda de Montaña) gave some practical advices when evaluating bulls using the proposed methodology.
Among the attendants, a farmer interviewed by Tempero (Aragón TV) recognized that he was probably not paying the right attention to the bulls in his farm and did not know about the methodology proposed. The full interview can be seen in the link below (in Spanish) from minute 17:30 onwards: https://alacarta.aragontelevision.es/programas/tempero/cap-677-28052022-1501
Some benefits were highlighted from this innovation, such as:
- Detecting bulls with low fertility is crucial for the reproductive efficiency of the farm
- It can help to improve the sanitary condition of the farm
- The VART guide not only aims to decide whether a bull is suitable or not for breeding, it also provides insights for a more efficient management during the mating season.
The procedure is ready for use but not yet widely applied in Spain, since it requires additional training and agreement between vets in the use of the proposed methodology and greater support from farmers, since they are the ones who must request (and pay) the evaluation of their bulls periodically.
On-farm demonstrations were also carried out in France and Ireland.
Link to the innovation on BKH:
Practice abstract (in Spanish): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fhK3_xqZRWxDBnp8JOc2PFsUShGSkdWN/view?usp=sharing
Further information: