Services at GRS

DOMESTIC

GRS provides a domestic ET service throughout Australia. We regularly travel throughout the Eastern states, providing an on farm embryo flushing, freezing and or transfer service. This service includes being able to split or sex embryos on farm.

We also run an on centre facility where cattle breeders can send their donors and we do all the preparation and flushing work at Goorambat. This allows us to manage and monitor all the donors and to be able to regularly palpate any problem cows and adjust or deal with the day to day issues that can arise during an embryo program.

RECIPIENTS

GRS runs a recipient farm, located about 15 minutes away from the donor centre. This 600 acre property is home to a revolving recipient herd of heifers and cows. The potential recipients are selected in order to maximise the chances of an early pregnancy. All recipients are treated with a pestivirus vaccination program, drenched and immunised as part of their introduction to the property. All recipients are palpated on arrival, then treated with a vitamin and mineral injection in the lead up to an embryo transfer program. Once an embryo has been transferred, the recipient is left until a 42 day pregnancy test. Those confirmed pregnant then go on to have a 90 day pregnancy test at which point they leave the recipient facility.

EMBRYO SEXING

GRS is currently the only Australian company offering embryo sexing as a commercial option in Australia. We originally started sexing embryo’s back in the 1990’s but at that time it was limited to transferring the embryos on a fresh only basis. Fast forward to 2009 where we can sex embryos and transfer them fresh into recipients or we can cryo-preserve them using a specific freezing protocol. This then allows for embryo transport to other locations or for transfer at a later date.

Sexing embryos is done by taking a small 4-6 cell biopsy from the embryo itself, then subjecting that biopsy to a method of PCR using a Y chromosome marker. The process takes about 2 hours after the completion of biopsy collection and so it is possible to be transferring embryos of a pre-determined sex into recipients on that same day. This is very helpful in the Australian dairy industry where recipients are usually in short supply and where male calves generally have a much lower economic value than heifer calves.

The system is portable enough that we can offer the embryo sexing service on farm or donors can be placed with us on centre where we are regularly sexing embryos.

EMBRYO SPLITTING

Another option for cattle breeders is the use of embryo splitting as a tool to maximise pregnancy rates. GRS offers embryo splitting as an option on farm where there are numbers of recipients available. Selected embryos can be split in half using a micro-manipulator, and then each demi embryo is placed into a recipient.

CO-OPERATIONS

GRS has been involved in some major programs with breeder groups, www.hotcross.com.au where we have produced large numbers of embryos to meet specific breeding requirements. This has resulted in 100’s of calves being born across Australia, all from embryos produced at Goorambat by GRS.

GRS is involved in research work connected with the animal reproduction industry. We continue to support research into this area of interest and look forward to seeing results that provide benefits for all cattle breeders in the future.