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Cattle Breeders and Breed Pioneers

Paulo de Castro Marques and Casa Branca Agropastoril: From Simmental to Record Nelore

A pharmaceutical entrepreneur turned cattle breeder built a 25,000-hectare operation known for the world's most expensive Nelore cows.

Who Is Paulo de Castro Marques?

Paulo de Castro Marques is the owner of Casa Branca Agropastoril, a Brazilian breeding operation best known for Nelore. He is also a partner in Biolab, a pharmaceutical company with annual revenue above R$3 billion, but he describes himself first as a rural entrepreneur. He grew up in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, where his father's family had a pharmaceutical business and the family farm produced milk from Girolando cattle. He brings his two children into the cattle business.

As a living person, only his public professional record is covered here. The AgFeed profile is the main source.

Casa Branca Agropastoril: Five Farms, 25,000 Hectares

AgFeed reports that Casa Branca runs five properties covering about 25,000 hectares, four in southern Minas Gerais and one in Mato Grosso. The Minas Gerais farm is the center for bull selection, and the Mato Grosso unit is the hub for multiplication and direct sales. The article does not name a headquarters city.

Casa Branca was founded in 2000, focused at first on Simmental and Angus, with genetics imported first from Canada and later from South Africa. It then added Brahman, looking for zebu cattle that combine carcass quality with tropical adaptation. Nelore became a major focus only in the last five years, and is now the best-known breed.

The Record-Priced Cows

Casa Branca's name is tied to some of the highest prices ever reported for cattle. Viatina-19 FIV Mara Móveis was the first Brazilian cow in the Guinness World Records as the most valuable in the world, appraised at R$21 million. Donna, which the article says was bred by Casa Branca, sold at auction in the previous November for R$54 million and is described as the most expensive cow in the world. The O Hoje report is headlined around the same idea.

Compre Rural also reported that two sons of Viatina-19 FIV Mara Móveis were Nelore grand champions at Expoinel in Uberaba, and ran stories on Casa Branca's ranking wins, including a headline naming it best breeder and exhibitor in the national Nelore ranking.

A Factory for Proven Bulls

The newest project is the Casa Branca Nelore Bull Selection Program. It targets Brazil's yearly shortage of bulls: AgFeed says breeding programs supply fewer than 80,000 a year against a need above 200,000. Casa Branca bought 300 females and 5,063 frozen embryos from Nelore Grendene after JBJ Investimentos bought Fazenda Ressaca, with about 1,700 calves expected in 2026.

Of about 550 females, consultants estimate 100 to 150 could be donors. Performance tests include feed intake, weight gain, carcass quality, marbling and ribeye area by ultrasound, with specialist visits four times a year. The plan is about 500 bulls offered in 2027, stabilizing at 800 to 1,000 per year within three years, priced at about R$24,000 to R$26,000.

The Key to Marques's Success

Marques came to cattle with capital from another business and built on measurement and genetics. See the ranching section of farm.FM for more on breeding programs.

What the reporting supports:

  • Outside capital and an owner's focus: pharmaceutical income funded a rural business he treats as primary.
  • Imported genetics: Simmental and Angus from Canada and South Africa at the start.
  • Matching breed to climate: Brahman and then Nelore for tropical adaptation and carcass quality.
  • Measured selection: feed intake, weight gain and ultrasound data guide donor and sire choices.
  • Splitting roles by farm: one for selection, one for multiplication and direct sales.
  • Limits: record cow prices are headline figures, and the bull program's volumes are plans, not results.

ACNB and the Wider Nelore Community

Site records list Marques as a vice-president of the Brazilian Nelore breeders' association, ACNB, and a Compre Rural headline reports Casa Branca ranked best breeder and exhibitor in a national ranking. The AgFeed article opened for this entry does not mention an ACNB role, so that title is kept as a site record, not a verified one.

For more Nelore reading, see a farm.FM story about Nelore breeding.

Timeline

  1. 2000Casa Branca Agropastoril founded with Simmental and Angus
  2. LaterBrahman added, then Nelore became the main focus in about the last five years
  3. 2024Casa Branca reported making a first at Expoinel in Uberaba
  4. 2025Donna sold at auction for R$54 million (reported)
  5. 2026Bull selection program announced, about 1,700 calves expected
  6. 2027About 500 bulls planned for sale

Frequently asked questions

Who is Paulo de Castro Marques?

He is a Brazilian rural entrepreneur and partner in the pharmaceutical company Biolab who owns Casa Branca Agropastoril, a leading Nelore breeding operation in Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso.

What is Casa Branca Agropastoril known for?

It is known for Nelore genetics and for animals tied to record cattle prices, including Viatina-19 FIV Mara Móveis, appraised at R$21 million, and Donna, sold for R$54 million.

How big is Casa Branca?

AgFeed reports five properties covering about 25,000 hectares, four in southern Minas Gerais and one in Mato Grosso.

Sources and further reading

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

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