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We often put a lot of focus on the sow when it comes to swine reproduction, but what about the boar? Today in our talk with Dr. Kerns, we discuss many things such as the importance of zinc, different semen extenders, and how to properly maintain and check motility. This is a great opportunity to learn more about some important steps in a boar stud.

"𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦." - 𝗗𝗿. 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗞𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻:

1. The importance of the boar
2. Understanding their sperm cells
3. Semen pool
4. The future of animal breeding
5. Semen extenders and antibiotics
6. Boar nutrition
7. Heat stress
8. Tips on genetics
9. Semen transportation
10. Third-party evaluation
11. Health side
12. Sow side

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: Karl Kerns, Ph.D., assistant professor of animal science at Iowa State University, focuses on molecular reproductive physiology. His research interests are on the steps that lead to fertilization success and the creation of a single-cell phenomics model with artificial intelligence to detect male-factor sub/infertility in domestic boars and bulls with applications for humans. Dr. Kerns was previously a USDA NIFA Fellow in his predoctoral and postdoctoral studies at the University of Missouri, where he currently has Adjunct Assistant Professor status. One of his passions is to fully and more quickly implement research findings through involvement with biotech startups.