Argentine cattle breed eyes European market with unique traits
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- A new cattle breed, San Ignacio, developed 35 years ago at the Catholic University of Córdoba, is seeking to export its meat to Europe, specifically Germany and Switzerland.
- The breed is adapted to high temperatures, resistant to ectoparasites, and produces quality meat even on low-quality pastures, making it suitable for areas outside Argentina's humid pampa.
- The San Ignacio breed aims to combine the meat quality and fertility of British breeds with the hardiness of African Tuli cattle, addressing structural changes in Argentine agriculture that push livestock to more challenging environments.
The San Ignacio cattle breed, developed over 35 years by the Catholic University of Córdoba, is making strides to become a significant player in the global meat market. The breed, a hybrid of African Tuli and British breeds like Hereford and Jersey, boasts remarkable adaptability to challenging environments.
Today, the San Ignacio breed is in full expansion throughout the national territory.
Martín Balfour, president of the Argentine Association of San Ignacio Breeders, highlighted the breed's resilience during the 138th Rural Exhibition in Palermo. "Today, the San Ignacio breed is in full expansion throughout the national territory," he stated. The breed's development was a strategic response to the agricultural sector's shift, pushing livestock farming into less fertile and more demanding regions of Argentina.
The Tuli cattle are Bos taurus, just like British or continental cattle, and have no indicus. This way, we maintain fertility, meat quality, and docility, and we generate very productive animals in extrapampas zones.
"We realized that agriculture was pushing livestock farming into more challenging areas of Argentina," Balfour explained. "The predominant breeds in the humid pampa found difficulties reproducing, feeding, and adapting in those environments." The San Ignacio breed counters this with short prepuces, polled horns, and notable tolerance to heat and ectoparasites, allowing for successful reproduction and development.
We realized that agriculture was pushing livestock farming into more challenging areas of Argentina. The predominant breeds in the humid pampa found difficulties reproducing, feeding, and adapting in those environments.
This adaptability translates into significant reproductive advantages. The breed can begin breeding at 15 months, with heifers calving by 27 months and becoming pregnant again shortly after. The breed's developers aimed to merge the meat quality and fertility of British cattle with the robustness of African animals, creating a highly productive option for extrapampas regions. The breed is now eyeing European markets, with Germany and Switzerland as primary targets.
Our animals have short prepuces, are polled, and show remarkable tolerance to heat and ectoparasites. This allows them to develop and reproduce without problems in those ecosystems.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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