Major development of the commercial artificial breeding industry in the United States has occurred since its birth in 1939. In 1981, the industry' provided semen to breed approximately 70 percent of the • national dairy herd and 10 of the national beef herd. A. primary concern • within the industry is the impact of continued reduction in. firm numbers and growth of individual firm size' and scale on competitive forces within, the total domestic and foreign artificial breeding market. The interactions • - of adjustments among the farm input sup-02,y sector, the farm production • sector, and the general economy are expected to continue in the future as U.S. dairy farms become larger but fewer in number and more beef cow farms • adopt artificial breeding. Use of artificial insemination for other livestock is expected to continue to increase. Additional realignment and restructuring of the industry can be. expected, as the farmer cooperative • firms and the privately owned firms -continue to merge and. consolidate ope- • . : • rations to gain efficiency in production and advantages of serving larger markets.