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Nelore

Nelore is a breed of cattle (Zebu) from India. The first examples of the breed arrived in Brazil in the end of XVIII century, and quickly became the predominant cattle breed in Brazilian herd (85% of the total herd).

The history of Nellore or Ongole breed, as it is known in Brazil, begins thousand years before the Christian era, when the Aryans took the animals to the Indian continent. Nellore is the name of an ancient district of Madras Province, State of Andra, located in the east coast of India, where the first animals were shipped to Brazil. The Indians consider the cow a sacred animal. For that reason, most of the population is vegetarian and has milk as one of the source of animal protein for the diet. The exploration of the cattle is concentrated in milk production and transportation.

Besides being more used and abundant breed for meat production In-Natura in Brazil, Nellore breed is being used for genetic improvement mainly in the last 30 years.

The Nelore breed was genetically improved in Brazil and it is focused on the meat production, although in its origin has been used for dairy farming.

Their main features are: the white or light gray fur, his face is narrow coffin-shaped, not protruding and slightly convex profile. The horns are usually short and often thick, it also distinguishes by short ears or medium size. It is, in general large cattle.