Artificial Insemination Center of Quebec
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Native name
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Centre d'Insémination Artificielle du Québec |
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| Limited Partnership | |
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Founder | Government of Quebec |
| Headquarters | Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada |
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Number of locations
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2 |
| Products | Bovine semen |
| Services | Semen bank, artificial insemination, agronomical research |
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Number of employees
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320 |
| Website | http://www.ciaq.com |
The Artificial Insemination Centre of Quebec (French: Centre d'Insémination artificielle du Québec) (CIAQ) is a limited partnership society founded in 1948 located in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada with the mission of improving through artificial insemination bovine herds used in milk and meat production throughout the province. The CIAQ is currently the sole bovine sperm production facility in Quebec and is the propriety of the Milk Producers of Quebec (PLQ), the Quebec Council of Milk Producing Breeds (CQRL) and the Provincial Council of Cattle Amelioration Clubs (CPCAB).
The CIAQ provides cattle farmers with bulls from the Ayrshire, Canadienne, Holstein, Jersey and Brown Swiss milk producing breeds along with other beef breeds. Around 800,000 doses of semen from the CIAQ's banks are used yearly by farmers in Quebec, Nova Scotia and around the world through the Semex Alliance, of which the CIAQ is a founding partner with a 45% stake.
At the beginning of the 1940s, the provincial government of Quebec was becoming increasingly conscious of the poor yields of milk cattle in most farms. For those at the ministry of agriculture, the then new technique of artificial insemination appeared to be an economical and quick method to improve the province's herds, lower production costs and increase revenues. Lacking the required expertise in its own ranks, the government hired Ernest Mercier, a young agronomist, to complete graduate studies in Cornell University in New York in the field and develop the technique in Quebec. His studies completed, Dr. Mercier founded in 1947 what would later become the CIAQ, whose first insemination was conducted the 29 April 1948.
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