Genuine Brazilian
Tropical GirolandoDairy Cattle Breedcompletes 20 yearsof itsofficial introduction in
Brazil, andnowaccounts for approximately 80%of the entire national cattle business
Crossings join
the qualities of
Dairy Gir and
Dutch breeds
The Girolando Dairy breed, resulting from
a crossing of Dairy Gir (3/8) and Dutch breeds
(5/8), in 2016 completes 20 years of its official
introduction in Brazil, by the Ministry of Agri-
culture, Livestock and Food Supply (Mapa).
Renowned as “a genuinely national tropical
breed”, by the entity of its breeders, it encom-
passes, according to the same source, virtues of
Gir cattle, with great capacity to adapt and rus-
ticity”, and Dutch, “with years of selection fo-
cused on the production of milk”.
While there are historical records attesting
to the arrival of the first animals in the 1940s,
the Girolando breed was officially introduced
on 1st February 1996. Back then, The Associ-
ation of Dairy Cattle Breeders in Triângulo Mi-
neiro and Alto Parnaíba (Assoleite), which in
1989was delegated to conduct theprogramfor
coming up with the breed in Brazil, it adopted
the name of Brazilian Association of Girolando
Breeders. Based inUberaba (MG), it is engaged
in rationally developing this breed.
The animals of this breed already account
for approximately 80% of the entire nation-
al milk production volumes, according to fig-
ures released by the Girolando Association.
With its outstanding characteristic of adapt-
ing to different types of management and cli-
mate, it is now present from North to South,
but it really stands out in the Southeast and
in the main milk producing state in Brazil,
Minas Gerais. More than 50% of the 393 as-
sociate members registered in 2016 belong
to this unit of the federation, followed by São
Paulo and Goiás, totaling 19 states.
The association now comprises upwards
of 1.527 million registers of the breed, from
1989 to 2015. He also highlights the evolution
that took place during this period, with infor-
mation coming from Embrapa Dairy Cattle
pointing to a 100-percent increase in the pro-
duction of milk over the past 13 years. “The in-
vestments of the rural producers in selecting
tools in order to detect the animals that produce
the most have contributed towards this relevant
leap, along with improvements to pasturelands
andnutrition”, entity officials comment.
José Renes, who has been with the asso-
ciation since its beginning, emphasizes the
need to create a reliable zootechnical data-
base, based on instruments like Dairy Con-
trol and Progeny Test, for the generation of
genetic evaluations of the breed. Finally, he
is keen on constant evolution, with strides
in genomic selection. The institution attests
that the breed, “national genetic asset, has
contributed significantly for Brazil to occupy
a relevant position among all milk produc-
ing nations, especially among the countries
located in the tropical zones of the planet”.
Sílvio Ávila
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