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Beef Cattle Breeds

Nelore Cattle: How an Indian Zebu Became the Backbone of Brazilian Beef

A zebu bought off a ship in Bahia in 1868 grew into the breed behind roughly 100 million head of Brazilian cattle.

What is Nelore cattle?

Nelore is a Bos indicus breed, a zebu with the prominent hump behind the neck. The name can mislead: Nellore is an Indian district, and the Indian breed that contributed most to the Brazilian Nelore is the Ongole. According to the Oklahoma State University breed profile, Brazilians used Nellore as a synonym for Ongole, and the extra L was later dropped.

The Ongole's history reportedly goes back about 2,000 years before the Christian era, and the profile says Aryan people brought its ancestors to India, where they adapted to varied climates.

How Nelore reached Brazil

The first recorded acknowledgment of the breed in Brazil dates to 1868, when a ship bound for England carrying two Ongoles stopped in Salvador, Bahia, and the animals were sold there. Around 1878 the breeder Manoel Ubelhart Lemgruber bought a pair from the Hamburg Zoo in Germany. The breed spread through Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Minas Gerais and reached Uberaba in 1875, a date that sits oddly beside the 1878 purchase, which is a reminder that early records are patchy.

Organized breeding came later. The Nelore Herd Book and breed standards were established in Uberaba in 1938. Twenty animals were imported in 1960, and 84 Ongoles came from India in 1962, the last such purchase the Brazilian government authorized. They founded the Godahvari, Karvadi and Taj Mahal lines.

Why Nelore thrives in hot, dry country

The breed's reputation rests on adaptation. It has dark skin with a light coat, large sweat glands, a low metabolism and dense skin that deters insects. The profile says Nelore sweat glands are about twice as large and 30 percent more numerous than those of European breeds. The CattleSite Nelore profile covers the same adaptations.

It also converts poor forage well, tolerates long dry periods and resists bloat. Cows calve easily thanks to a wide pelvis and larger birth canal, and they have a long, prolific reproductive life with strong mothering instincts and a docile temperament.

What Made It Work

Nelore succeeded because Brazil's cattle country is largely tropical, and the breed was suited to it. Tropical regions hold 65 percent of the world's bovine population, so the traits that served Brazilian ranchers also matter elsewhere.

The record shows a mix of favorable biology, organized registration and strong use of reproductive technology.

  • Fit the animal to the climate: heat tolerance, insect resistance and efficiency on poor forage.
  • Register and standardize: the 1938 herd book in Uberaba gave breeders a common standard.
  • Selective breeding of top sires: Nelore semen accounts for 65 percent of Brazil's beef artificial insemination market, and the top two sires sold 34,000 and 30,000 straws in 1995.
  • Use embryo transfer: Brazil performs more than 50,000 embryo transfers a year, third globally after the United States and France.
  • Cross with European breeds for hybrid vigor, which produces heavier weaning weights and better fertility.

Numbers: how big is the Nelore herd?

Brazil's cattle herd grew from 56 million in 1965 to 160 million in 1995, and about 100 million of those were Nelore. Registered purebred Nelore exceed 5 million. In a U.S. Meat Animal Research Center study cited by the profile, Nelore F1 dams scored a 115.0 productivity ratio, the highest of the breeds evaluated, with 95.1 percent unassisted calving and 93 percent of calves weaned.

A purebred Nelore steer won Best Overall in Taste at the 1991 Houston Livestock Show, which counters the assumption that zebu beef is always tough, though the breed's beef is described as lean.

Polled Nelore and crossbreeding

Naturally hornless Nelore strains reduce the need for dehorning. When a polled parent is bred to a horned one, about 85 to 90 percent of offspring are polled.

Nelore has been crossed with local breeds in many countries, often with European breeds, including in Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela, Central America, Mexico and the United States. Crosses inherit drought resistance, heat tolerance and longevity.

Limits and trade-offs

The same sources describe Nelore beef as lean, and the breed's strengths lie in survival and efficiency more than in heavy fat cover. Zebu breeds also need handling that suits their temperament, and the supply of foundation animals narrowed after 1962, when the government stopped authorizing imports from India.

For stories about ranching in other parts of the world, see farm.FM's ranching section and a farm.FM story about Nelore cattle. More background is in the The Week article on the breed's Indian roots.

Timeline

  1. 1868Two Ongoles are sold in Salvador, Bahia, the first recorded acknowledgment of the breed in Brazil.
  2. 1875The breed reaches Uberaba after spreading through Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Minas Gerais.
  3. 1878Manoel Ubelhart Lemgruber buys a pair from the Hamburg Zoo, about this year.
  4. 1938The Nelore Herd Book and breed standards are established in Uberaba.
  5. 1960Twenty animals are imported.
  6. 1962Eighty-four Ongoles arrive from India, the last government-authorized import.
  7. 1965Brazil's cattle herd stands at 56 million.
  8. 1995Brazil's herd reaches 160 million, about 100 million of them Nelore.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Nelore cattle come from?

Nelore descends from the Ongole cattle of India. The first recorded animals reached Salvador, Bahia, in 1868, and the Brazilian herd book was set up in Uberaba in 1938.

Why is Nelore the main beef breed in Brazil?

It tolerates heat, insects, drought and poor forage. Oklahoma State reports that about 100 million of Brazil's 160 million cattle in 1995 were Nelore.

Is Nelore the same as Nellore?

The Indian name refers to a district. Brazilians used Nellore as a synonym for Ongole and later dropped the extra L, giving Nelore.

Is Nelore beef tender?

It is described as lean yet palatable. A purebred Nelore steer won Best Overall in Taste at the 1991 Houston Livestock Show.

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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