Breeders of the European breed seek greater thermal confort for its animals with CCFI
Despite the economic crisis Brazil is facing in recent years, the consumption of premium meat such as from Angus has presented exponential growth, since more demanding consumers do not give up quality. This makes producers interested in taping into that market be extremely professional in the breading of cattle in order to offer meat that caters for their expectations of tenderness and flavor.
The greatest difficulty, even to this day, in adapting Angus to the Brazilian weather is its dark fur, even in half-blood breed with Nellore. And due to its fur, the animals feel the heat, generating losses, since they do not develop as they should. Allying the breeding of Angus cattle with forest can be an ideal solution, mainly because the forest generates an extra income that offsets, at the end, the fewer animals on the grazing plot.
The experience of Paraná Wood Pecuária (PWP), one of the companies in the Paraná Wood Group, is an example that the silviculture-cattle raising systems and the CCFI (crop-cattle-forest integration) work extremely well in the production of meat. According to veterinarian Luís Henrique Aguilera Turrissi, who has been providing services to the PWP herd for three years at Fazenda São Lucas, it was observed that the farm would have greater financial return using CCFI, with the planting of corn for silage and forest. According to him, the second herd of animals at the farm, in 2019/2020, presented an average of 344 kilos, with a reduction of two months in post-weening grazing. “In the previous year, 2018/2019, when CCFI had not been implemented, we had an average of 308 kilos. The real profit of the second herd was of additional R$ 800 per animal. It is a complete, perfect system, and if worked correctly, it has a very good yield”, he explains.
Turrissi points out that the integration has several benefits, especially for Angus X Nellore cross-breed animals. “When it comes to Angus, since they have darker fur, they end up absorbing more heat. From a European lineage, they feel the heat and exposure to the sun much more. In some properties, where integration is not applied, when the sun is very hot they seek shadow inside the woods, instead of grazing. In extreme situations, you can find animals even inside lakes or dams, trying to cool themselves. And with the integration system, the animals stay all day long in the shade, grazing, and thus their development is much higher than the ones not in integration”, he states.
The thermal comfort is one of the greatest benefits for the animal, which is less prone to diseases, Turrissi says. “The producer spends less with medication and has no direct deaths, since the stress caused by the heat lowers the immunity, resulting in losses. When everything is added up, there is only advantages”, he explains. On the other hand, the producer has to watch out for sanitation. “The sanitary handling must be performed following strict criteria, since CCFI has some ectoparasite vectors. There is a slight increase of flies and larvae, but it is nothing abnormal that cannot be controlled if the handling is correct” he adds.
According to Turrissi, the only counter-indication is the incorrect placement of the trees. “If the producer is not being well assisted, and if the trees are planted with incorrect spacing and/or positioning, it will result in less sun during the day in the passage among them, resulting in low photosynthesis, and consequently the production and quality of the forage is below the expected, which may result in not having quality grazing. However, if correctly handled, respecting the spacing, it can’t go wrong”, he guarantees. IN addition, there is an extra advantage: during winter, the trees protect the grazing area from the cold, thus maintaining its high quality.
The veterinarian also tells that the coops are working hard in the matter of integration, but only focused on cattle breeding-crop, for recovering the land and reforming grazing plots. With two or three years of crops, then the pasture takes over. The reform is almost zero cost, since the plantation pays for them. “The forests should also have more advertising, since it only brings benefits to both the animals and the producer”, he says.
For this year’s harvest, the expectations are very high, according to him. Last year, the animals went into confinement in April weighing an average of 527 kilos. “This year we will have an increase of almost 8 kilos, and a reduction of one month, since we will place the animals in confinement now in March, with approximately 22 months”, he explains. According to him, the trend is to reduce post-weaning grazing of 14 to 16 months to 12-14 months. “As the replacement price is very high, we must be extremely efficient, allying the best cost-benefit between production and expenses. The post-weaning grazing period must be reduced with a heavier animal, and a lower cost. And integration already provides that, since there is a good weight gain during the grazing period”, he adds. In his opinion, the objective is reaching 367 kilos and reducing the time the animal remains in the property.
