The role of semen quality and quantity in subfertility. While many measures of infertility exist, little is known about subfertility. Subfertility is diminished reproductive performance. It's less noticeable than infertility, but can still cost producers thousands of dollars a year. But there is hope.
Producers can now identify telltale signs of subfertility in males.
Typically, producers have measured breeding success or failure through pregnancy rates, often culling cows rather than bulls when rates drop too low. By using semen motility and morphology, Saacke created a new sperm classification system. Compensable traits include immotile sperm, sperm with tail defects, immature sperm, and sperm with distinctly misshapen heads. Factors affecting sperm-egg recognition, binding and egg penetration are also compensable traits. So far, however, no standard tests are available to identify these qualities in sperm.