Frozen Bovine Semen - The Coming of The Straw

The Coming of The Straw

In the 1960s a straw package that utilized a plastic straw was invented by the Robert Cassou family business called IMV in France. This straw was made of PVC material and had two cotton plugs with powder in-between them. This was called the factory end. The other end was open. Semen was sucked up into the straw. Then the straw was placed directly onto a comb and semen was expelled to make an airspace. Then the straw was placed directly into a pile of PVC powder that sealed the straw. Then the straw was placed into a water bath for a period of time to plug the end sealed. Then dried with cloth towels and frozen on metal racks. After freezing the straws were placed in 95 degree Fahrenheit water thawed for 60 seconds and placed into a stainless steel gun. A sheath was placed over the gun and locked into place by an o-ring. Then the cow was inseminated the usual way.In the early 1970s an automated machine was invented by IMV. This machine would seal the straws (ultrasonically) one by one. Then several years later a machine that would fill and seal straws 3 at a time came out. This greatly increased processing times for bull studs. In the mid-2000s a machine that would not only fill 3 straws at a time but also have the capability to print the desired information on the straw, became available.