A Royal Meeting – Sunday morning, May 4, 2014

This morning we headed to Uberaba for the Brazilian cattle show ExpoZebu. This quite frankly was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. This year ExpoZebu completes 80 years of uninterrupted accomplishments in research, innovation, and exhibition. There is so much family history tied to national pride in the genetic development of the cattle breeds. All of it comes together at the Fernando Costa Park – the history and the future!! Our translator said it was the “Day of Judgment”, as he pointed to the judging arena. We understood!! What we didn’t anticipate was the beauty of it all. The arena is grass – manicured to perfection – which just seems the perfect setting for such regal cattle. The different breeds – age groups – breeding pairs – cows with calves by their side – bulls – it all seemed like an endless parade of the most beautiful animals. What was different and fun to watch were the cows that went into the arena with calves following along side. Mom was being shown and babies would lie down at some distance in the arena or the calf would just walk around leisurely until Mom was finished in the show ring. When the cow left – the baby followed – no halters – no lead ropes.

“The Brazilian Cattle” was the name of the show this year, coordinated by ABCZ in partnership with Apex-Brazil (Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments) – a showcase that features to the world the quality of the Brazilian Zebu. This show is a trade fair that gives the world a glimpse of the technical and genetic advancements of Brazilian cattle.

They can proudly boast of more and better meat – better milk and its derivatives. These cattle are well cared for and all within the care and respect for the environment – preserving the Brazilian natural resources.
We walked through barn after barn of cattle lounging on beds of rice hulls.

Every animal was groomed and well fed with a nutritional mix of grains, forages, citrus pellets specifically and meticulously formulated by the owners. And the gentle nature of the Zebu was evident as we walked the barns and animal after animal would approach us to be handled – loved!!

These animals were hard to resist. We wanted to stay and embrace the moment. These two babies had settled in for a morning nap.

There was much to learn about the Brazilian cattle business and its contributions to a complex global cattle industry. But today – we just enjoyed the show – the beauty of the Zebu!! They were calm – sweet – gentle spirits. I felt like I had walked among royalty.