Dr. Colin Palmer, one of our reproductive specialist veterinarians from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine here at the University of Saskatchewan  joins the podcast again this week to discuss the important topic of subfertility in beef bulls.  Today we focus on the parts of the breeding soundness exam that greatly impact fertility - scrotal circumference and semen morphology.  Dr. Palmer describes some of the most common sperm defects and why they occur. 00:00 –Welcome and introductions 01:05 – Importance of body condition score in bulls 03:16 – Scrotal circumference and it’s impact on fertility 10:02 – Identifying testicular and scrotal problems 16:05 –  Accessory sex glands and seminal vesiculitis 18:45  – Evaluating the semen sample 21:55 – Abnormal sperm morphology – why does it occur? 24:12 – Common sperm morphology abnormalities – Distal midpiece reflexes and proximal droplets 32:00 – What does the term “Rusty load” mean in terms of sperm defects? 35:05 – Genetic sperm abnormalities 37:12 – Why is 70% normal sperm considered acceptable? 40:21 – Summary and wrap up