World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Cattle Breeders and Breed Pioneers

Manoel Ubelhart Lemgruber and the First Nelore Cattle in Brazil

A Swiss-born immigrant who saw zebu cattle in a German zoo and sent a bull and a calf to Rio de Janeiro.

Who was Manoel Ubelhart Lemgruber?

Manoel Ubelhart Lemgruber was a Swiss immigrant to Brazil who made water wheels for a living and who is credited with bringing the first Nelore cattle to the country. The Forbes Agro obituary of his cousin Paulo Lemgruber calls him Paulo's cousin and says he died in July 1921. An Embrapa document names him as the effective introducer of Nelore in Brazil, in 1878, and ties him to Sapucaia in Rio de Janeiro state.

The sources reviewed here say little about his early life, so this profile concentrates on the one act that made him part of Brazilian cattle history.

How did the first Nelore reach Brazil in 1878?

According to Forbes Agro, Lemgruber saw Nelore-type cattle in a zoo cage in Germany and decided to bring the animals to Brazil. In 1878 he imported a bull and a calf, together with an Indian caretaker who would not leave them unattended because the animals were considered sacred in India.

At the time the breed was known in Brazil as Ongole, the name of the Indian cattle district it came from, not Nelore. The change of name came later as the breed spread. The Embrapa document on Nelore history describes him simply as the person who brought the breed in, without giving details of the shipment.

What happened to the Lemgruber herd?

The animals became the base of a family herd that, in the same Forbes Agro account, was never crossbred with outside animals. The herd is now at Fazenda Sao Jose in Carmo, Rio de Janeiro, on a property of about 1,000 hectares, where it was continued by Paulo Lemgruber and later his daughter.

The stock spread from Rio de Janeiro into Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais and then across Brazil. The herd is known for large carcasses, with more cuts of meat, and for strong maternal ability. Its docile temperament, long overlooked, is now valued by breeders concerned with animal welfare.

How did Nelore grow after 1878?

Lemgruber's two animals were the start of a long series of imports. The Embrapa document counts about 7,000 Indian animals entering Brazil in all. Between 1914 and 1918, 1,874 breeding animals arrived, and in 1920 and 1921 another 2,075 followed. The rinderpest outbreak of 1921 led to the cancellation of imports.

Later waves included 20 Nelore cattle landing at Paranagua in 1960 and the great 1962 import. The same document reports that Nelore now makes up nearly 80 percent of Brazil's zebu herd and records over 4.3 million birth registrations from 1939 to 2000.

What Made It Work

The Lemgruber story is less about a business plan than about two choices: bring in an unfamiliar breed, then keep the line closed and selected for generations.

What the record shows is limited, but it is clear.

  • He noticed a breed adapted to heat by seeing it abroad and acted on it, bringing a bull and a calf rather than waiting for others.
  • He brought an Indian caretaker along, which kept the animals handled in a way they were used to on the long journey.
  • The family kept the herd closed to outside blood, according to Forbes Agro, so the line stayed distinct.
  • The herd was later registered with the Brazilian zebu breeders association ABCZ and monitored under Embrapa's Geneplus program.
  • A very small start of two animals was enough because the breed fitted Brazil's climate and later imports built on it.

Limits of the record

Figures such as a precise birth date, the ship used or the price paid were not found in the sources reviewed, so they are left out. Where Embrapa and Forbes Agro describe the introduction differently, this profile follows Forbes for the story of the zoo and the caretaker.

For more on how Nelore reshaped Brazilian cattle, see the ranching section of farm.FM, and a farm.FM story about Nelore cattle covers the breed today.

Timeline

  1. 1878Lemgruber imports a Nelore-type bull and a calf with an Indian caretaker
  2. 1914-19181,874 breeding animals enter Brazil from India
  3. 1920-1921Another 2,075 breeders arrive
  4. 1921Rinderpest ends imports; Lemgruber dies in July
  5. 1960Twenty Nelore cattle land at Paranagua
  6. 1962The great Nelore import from India
  7. 2014The Lemgruber herd enters Embrapa Geneplus monitoring

Frequently asked questions

Who brought the first Nelore to Brazil?

Manoel Ubelhart Lemgruber, a Swiss immigrant, is credited with bringing the first Nelore, then called Ongole, to Brazil in 1878: a bull and a calf with an Indian caretaker.

Why was the breed first called Ongole?

When Lemgruber imported them in 1878 the cattle were called Ongole, after the Indian district they came from. The name Nelore came into use later as the breed spread in Brazil.

What is the Lemgruber herd?

It is a Nelore herd descended from the 1878 animals, kept free of outside crosses, now at Fazenda Sao Jose in Carmo, Rio de Janeiro, and registered with ABCZ.

When did Manoel Lemgruber die?

Forbes Agro reports that he died in July 1921, the same year rinderpest led Brazil to cancel zebu imports.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

More from the hall