Fertility in dairy cows has decreased during the past 50 years and current management procedures have done little to rectify this situation. Following intense selection for increased milk production, there are significantly more problems in establishing pregnancy at the appropriate time. In recent years, major strides have been made in the development of new embryo-based biotechnologies, including in vitro embryo production, ovum pick-up, cryopreservation of gametes and embryos, cloning and sexing of gametes. The objectives of this paper are to review current progress relating to embryo-based technologies in cattle.

Coming at a time of increasing concern about the declining fertility of high-yielding cows the organisers of this conference are to be congratulated on achieving a well-balanced programme representative of the breadth and depth of the science that is now being directed to the problem of dairy cow infertility. From a starting point of uncertainty about how to deal with the problem, delegates came away very well informed scientifically and, if perhaps with varying views as to the best way forward, more aware of the multidisciplinary research and development approach now being used to investigate it. The purpose of this perspective is to capture, along with the broad issues, the relevant technical detail of the papers and discussions in a way that hopefully provides a balanced overview of the conference.