Focus Topics

With increasing pressures demanding new levels of efficiency in animal production, it is essential that development of products and processes continues into the optimization of artificial insemination (AI). We at Minitube are committed to keeping our customers at the forefront of technical and practical knowledge.

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Timesaving and accurate counting of straws in liquid nitrogen
Timesaving and accurate counting of straws in liquid nitrogen
The StrawPal is an innovative, camera-based system for counting straws in liquid nitrogen. It revolutionizes the workflow of incoming and outgoing inspection and inventory of frozen semen straws.   This advanced system seamlessly integrates cutting edge c
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MiniThaw: Straw thawing made easy
MiniThaw: Straw thawing made easy
Minitube's new thawing unit, MiniThaw, convinces with its slim and handy design. The material is very durable, and the lid is 100% leak-proof. Thanks to these features, MiniThaw is very easy to transport, to prepare and to use. The user can set the thawin
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Proven laboratory use: Minitube bovine semen extenders
Proven laboratory use: Minitube bovine semen extenders
Millions of semen doses are produced annually with Minitube bovine semen extenders. The consistently superior quality of Minitube extenders is due to our strict quality control of all raw materials, as well as the batch control of the final product.
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Hygiene basics for low-bacteria semen production
Hygiene basics for low-bacteria semen production
High quality semen doses must provide fertile sperm cells and avoid the transmittance of pathogens into the female genital tract. During storage at +17°C, extended boar semen is susceptible to bacterial growth. Strict hygienic measures at all stages of se
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May we present: Rudolf Großfeld (PhD), Minitube Germany
May we present: Rudolf Großfeld (PhD), Minitube Germany
No one at Minitube embodies the passion for pig reproduction as much as he does. For 11 years, Rudolf Großfeld has enriched the Minitube product management team with his expertise. He enjoys passing on this expertise by regularly conducting seminars and c
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Game-changer for the horse breeding industry
Game-changer for the horse breeding industry
With Beyond®, semen storage is finally possible for up to 14 days at +5°C. The development of Beyond® marks a revolutionary improvement of stallion semen preservation. Ejaculates of high initial quality can now be stored for up to two weeks post collectio
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May we present: Maurício Hoshino da Costa Barros, Minitub do Brasil
May we present: Maurício Hoshino da Costa Barros, Minitub do Brasil
Part of the Minitub do Brasil team since July 2012, Maurício provides technical support for Porcine customers throughout Latin America, especially in Brazil. He is a respected expert for CASA systems and has already successfully established many AndroVisi
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Technical cornerstones of successful AI in cattle
Technical cornerstones of successful AI in cattle
There is a plethora of variables that play into the success or failure of artificial insemination (AI). From health and nutrition status of the sires, to frequency of semen collection, all the way to the right point in time in the cow’s estrus, countless
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May we present: John Quackenbush, CCO Minitube USA
May we present: John Quackenbush, CCO Minitube USA
John Quackenbush is an expert in pig reproduction and CCO of Minitube USA. In 2015, Minitube USA was established in Wisconsin to provide innovative products and optimal service to our customers within the US and Canada. Let us introduce John in an intervi
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Automated goblet packing with intelligent design
Automated goblet packing with intelligent design
The GobletPacker provides an accurate and reliable solution for filling frozen 0.25 ml straws automatically into goblets in liquid nitrogen/nitrogen vapor. It consists of a goblet unit and a straw unit which holds 1800 MiniStraws. Empty goblets are manual
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Why is identical temperature at collection and evaluation so important?
Why is identical temperature at collection and evaluation so important?
Freshly ejaculated boar spermatozoa are highly sensitive to cooling and quick dilution. The first 10 to 15 minutes following semen collection are especially important as the spermatozoa are busy with adapting to the new seminal plasma environment. Any cha
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MultiCoder – labeling as if by magic!
MultiCoder – labeling as if by magic!
The MultiCoder revolutionizes labeling technology in the laboratory, it prints data within seconds, directly on almost all types of dishes, tubes, straws, cassettes, and goblets. It is very easy to use: configure your print templates in the intuitive soft
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Choice of extender to optimize boar sperm production
Choice of extender to optimize boar sperm production
The choice of boar semen extender in the process of artificial insemination in pig production has a significant importance. Some 90% of a typical semen dose consists of semen extender. The semen extender has a couple of important functions. One major func
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An expert view of the porcine industry from the UK to Australia
An expert view of the porcine industry from the UK to Australia
After nearly 20 years as general manager of Minitube Australia, Alan Smith has retired and handed over the baton to his successor Dan Hollingworth. At home in England, where his parents had a 200-sow free-range piggery, Dan’s affiliation with pigs started
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Minitube boar semen extenders: maximum security and performance
Minitube boar semen extenders: maximum security and performance
The consistently superior quality of Minitube extenders is due to exclusive use of highly pure and certified ingredients and to a strict quality control of each batch of raw components and of each batch of extender produced. The controls include a full sc
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Post-cervical insemination in sows
Post-cervical insemination in sows
Post-cervical artificial insemination (PCAI) is the insemination of sows with a semen deposition beyond the cervix directly into the uterine body. A regular AI catheter is first introduced into the cervix. This catheter then acts as a guide for a thinner
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Reinvention of a classic: HTi control units
Reinvention of a classic: HTi control units
Minitube microscope heating systems have a longstanding reputation for their excellent technical standard, high accuracy, and uniform temperature distribution. The technology of our control units has been continuously adapted to the state of the art, but
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May we present: Dr. Kilian Simmet, Minitube Germany
May we present: Dr. Kilian Simmet, Minitube Germany
Minitube started as a family business, and, despite its size, it still is today with the third family generation working in management. Being part of this third generation, Kilian Simmet took up his position as Division Manager Product Management & Pharma
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Equine semen cryopreservation
Equine semen cryopreservation
Cryopreservation of equine semen suffers from misinformation in the field about its efficiency, applicability, and the prerequisites required for its final adoption in reproductive strategies and operations. Unfortunately, misinformation generates a range
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Always an excellent decision: Minitube boar semen tubes and bags
Always an excellent decision: Minitube boar semen tubes and bags
A semen container must guarantee non-toxicity in terms of sperm tolerance and semen fertility. Minitube QuickTip® semen tubes and QuickTip® semen bags meet this essential requirement through compliance with numerous regulations, a rigorous quality control
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May we present: Janine Wernli, Minitub Iberica
May we present: Janine Wernli, Minitub Iberica
With Janine Wernli we welcomed a new colleague and horse reproduction expert to the Minitube team last October. Janine has Colombian and Swiss roots and is a specialist in assisted reproductive techniques and ultrasound, mare infertility treatment and neo
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Ovum pick-up in the mare
Ovum pick-up in the mare
Ultrasound-guided transvaginal oocyte aspiration represents a non-invasive method for obtaining equine oocytes. In practice, this technique has now almost replaced the more invasive laparoscopic techniques. 
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Why do sperm numbers per dose sometimes vary?
Why do sperm numbers per dose sometimes vary?
The sperm number per semen dose is a very important quality criteria, when selling semen tubes to customers, as well as when using them on your own sow farm. A semen dose needs to contain a certain minimum number of sperm to allow the successful fertiliza
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Herrid´s Vitrification Kit for camel embryos
Herrid´s Vitrification Kit for camel embryos
The efficiency of cryopreservation of camel embryos has been significantly improved by applying vitrification techniques. In comparison to slow controlled-rate freezing, vitrification is a simple and successful technique. It is based on a combination of m
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Determine the ideal insemination or breeding time
Determine the ideal insemination or breeding time
The MiniReader is a compact and affordable device that measures the amount of Progesterone present in canine blood serum using ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay). With only a small sample of blood serum, the MiniReader provides highly accurate res
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Unlock your stallion’s freezing potential
Unlock your stallion’s freezing potential
The SBS CryoSystem consists of a range of freezing extenders which are paired with complementary freezing protocols. Spectrum extenders feature various cryoprotectants and specific egg yolk or milk content that combine to protect sperm cells from damage c
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