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The primary goal of Man's intervention in animal reproduction has always been to reproduce the best individuals in order to eliminate flaws that decrease individual performance or the overall yield of the flock or herd. Although the goals of modern animal husbandry have not really changed, the means of achieving them have evolved considerably. While the techniques of assisted reproduction may be applied to all animal species, they are used mostly for farm animals, which are raised in numbers sufficient to make the investment worthwhile. Assisted reproduction techniques thus serve to disseminate the genes of the best-performing animals, to increase the prolificacy of the flock or herd, to increase reproduction and/or get around infertility problems. Correct identification of the needs of animal producers is therefore of fundamental importance in order to choose the most suitable technique or techniques for producing offspring that increase profitability.