June 11, 2024

 

Record-breaking Brazilian cow sold for more than US$4 million

 

 

A Brazilian cow broke records after selling for more than US$4 million at an auction, more than three times the last record holder's price.

 

Weighing 2,400 pounds, Viatina-19 FIV Mara Movéis is twice as heavy as an average adult of her breed. Viatina-19 is the result of Brazil's years-long efforts to raise meatier cows so that more people will eat its beef.

 

Per the Guinness World Records, Viatina-19 sold for the equivalent of US$4.38 million in Arandú, São Paulo, Brazil.

 

Prizewinners are sold at high-stakes auctions — so high that wealthy ranchers share ownership. They extract the eggs and semen from champion animals, create embryos and implant them in surrogate cows that they hope will produce the next excellent specimens.

 

"We're not slaughtering elite cattle. We're breeding them," one of Viatina-19's owners, Ney Pereira, told The Associated Press. "And at the end of the line, going to feed the whole world. I think Viatina will provide that."

 

Pereira's daughter, Lorrany Martins, said the hefty price stems from how quickly the cow put on vast amounts of muscle, from her fertility and how often she has passed those characteristics to her offspring.

 

Breeders also value posture, hoof solidity, docility, maternal ability and beauty. Those eager to enhance their livestock's genetics pay around US$250,000 for an opportunity to collect Viatina-19's egg cells.

 

Pereira said Viatina-19 gets special treatment to boost egg cell production.

 

The cow is now pregnant and Pereira's is eyeing expansion. The cow's egg cells have sold to Bolivian buyers and Pereira wants to export to other countries like the United Arab Emirates, India and the United States.

 

- Fox Business