Abstract

This study analyzes different factors that affect the success of the artificial insemination of cows of small farmers involved in a productive and genetic improvement program in the O´Higgins region of central Chile. The success of artificial insemination was modeled as a function of different biological, environmental, and social factors recorded by the program, using logistic regression. The model output was the gestational status of the inseminated cow, diagnosed by ultrasound. All predictors were evaluated for unconditional associations with the outcome. Results showed that the pregnancy probabilities in cows from the Cardenal Caro province were higher than those from the Cachapoal province; inseminators with 10 or more years of experience have greater pregnancy success than those with 1-4 years of experience; pregnancy odds decreased on farms with 30 or more cows compared to farms with 1 to 5 cows, and pregnancy odds also decreased when AI was performed at a fixed time compared to heat detection. Thus, the province, the number of cows the owner had, the experience of the inseminators, and the type of insemination were associated with the success of the pregnancy.