Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ), as the first university with embryo production permission, has started embryo transfers outside the university farm. The Genetics and Embryo Technologies Application and Research Center (GETEM), initiated within MAKÜ approximately 6 years ago and producing embryos for the last three years, responds to the demands of breeders who want to obtain more offspring from breeds with high genetics.
Having received a production permit from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, MAKÜ contributes to both the region and the national economy with this work and aims to reduce dependency on foreign sources for quality breeding cattle through embryo transfer. The studies have begun to be conducted in Burdur center and district villages.
This work of MAKÜ is considered an important step in the field of embryo transfer in Turkey and promises great potential in the livestock sector across the country.
The Success Story of Embryo Transfer
Speaking about the embryo transfer conducted at the Aysel Karagöz farm in Bucak, which was awarded a gold operation certificate by MAKÜ, Operations Manager Osman Akay stated that this process has greatly benefited their production. Akay said, "An environment and a skilled team are required for embryo transfer. It was impossible for us to collect and transfer the embryos with our own means. Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University provided great support in this regard."
Akay noted that thanks to embryo transfer, they could obtain 10-15 embryos per year from animals from which they could normally get one calf per year, and they accelerated their production by transferring these embryos to surrogate mothers. He emphasized that they achieved higher efficiency and a sustainable herd with this method.
GETEM’s First Steps in the Field
Embryo Technologies Application and Research Center (GETEM) Director Prof. Dr. Yunus Çetin stated that they have started to open up to the field in the embryo production project they began 6 years ago. Çetin said, "We produced embryos in cows with high milk yield in the enterprise. By transferring these embryos to genetically lower heifers, we obtain high-genetic offspring. Normally, we could get 4 calves from 4 high-yield cows in a year, but with this method, we can get 20-25 calves."
Çetin noted that embryo transfer is not a common practice in Turkey and said that MAKÜ is a pioneer in this field and that the system they established at the university farm has started to be applied in the field. Çetin concluded his words by saying, "We must do successful work so that there are no problems in the field. Now there is an established system, and we are using this technology in the field."