Few, if any, technologies have had the impact on commercial pig production that has been achieved through artificial insemination (Al). Japanese workers first advocated Al of pigs in 1947, however, regular use was not adopted until the 1980s to allowthe regular movement of genetics across greater distances. The 1990s saw the rise of pig breeding companies and with that the establishment of a majority of the technified (not backyard) commercial producers switching from natural matings to purchasing semen. In the 21 st Century this is further complemented with large producers establishing their own boar studs and smaller farms collecting semen from boars dispersed via Al into gilts and sows.
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