Mini cows but maxi milk

Mini-cows produce more meat and milk per hectare than normal sized animals. This is the claim of a Mexican veterinarian who, over the last 17 years, has bred Brahman cattle to be smaller rather than larger. Dr Jose Berruecos, Director of the Faculty of Veterinary Studies, Mexico City, originally took 30 Brahman cattle and bred from the smallest. After five generations of breeding there are now 12 mini calves and 18 adults. Each is about a metre high and weighs about 150 kg. This is a quarter of the weight of a normal Brahman cow. Dr Berruecos claims smallness is a great advantage: ten mini cows can be kept on the same area as one normal cow; their total production is 1500 kg per hectare compared to just 600 kg from a single large animal; the small animal lends itself better to small plots farmed by the smallholder; and the mini cows yield 3.5 to 4 litres of milk/day, which could be enough to sustain one family in milk. Other advantages of the mini-cows are that they are friendlier, easier to handle and need less fencing. Dr Berruecos hopes to cross them with Jersey cows to increase their milk production For more details, contact: Faculty of Veterinary Studies National Autonomous University Mexico City MEXICO

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
Format:	News Item biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation 1988
Online Access:	https://hdl.handle.net/10568/44797 http://collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jcta13e/
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