Fazenda Bela Vista More Than Doubled Milk Output in Eight Years
Fazenda Bela Vista, known for the small bottles associated with its brand, recorded daily milk production of 102,000 litres in 2025, up from 47,000 litres eight years earlier. The result put the property back at the top of the 2026 MilkPoint/Abraleite ranking, ahead of Fazenda Colorado in Araras, São Paulo state.
The farm is targeting a further increase to 150,000 litres a day within three years. To handle the additional raw milk, it is spending R$15m on an expansion of the dairy plant located on the same property, about 300km from São Paulo. The project includes a pasteuriser, homogeniser, filling line, packaging and labelling equipment, expanded facilities, storage and a cold room.
The existing plant covers 1,480 square metres and was originally designed to process 630,000 litres a month. It now handles more than 2m litres a month. The expansion adds 2,050 square metres and is intended to double the plant’s structure. The new line is scheduled to begin operating on November 5. “We have to sell more because production is rising,” said Sérgio Ferraz Ribeiro Filho, the company’s general director.
Monthly processing capacity could eventually reach 6m litres, according to Sérgio. Weekly yoghurt production is planned to rise from 74 tonnes to 156 tonnes, with a new machine being installed for 250ml and 500ml containers. The company plans to use products with shelf lives of up to 60 days to extend distribution across São Paulo state, including areas farther from the plant.
Fazenda Bela Vista sells Type A, whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed milk, as well as cream, Parmesan, Minas Padrão, fresh cheese, ricotta and yoghurt in bottles and cups. A whey-protein yoghurt range is due to be launched later this year. The dairy operation was built on the São Paulo side of Fazenda São José, although part of the property lies in Minas Gerais, because the family identified São Paulo as Brazil’s main milk-consumption market.
The farm’s founder began production in 1960, initially keeping cattle on pasture and milking by hand. Daily output was then about 70 litres. The herd later moved from crossbred Danish and Holstein cattle, and a period using Gir cattle, to Holsteins, which now make up the entire herd. Fazenda São José introduced its first free-stall housing in Brazil in 1987, after its owner had studied production systems in the United States, Mexico and Europe. Since 2019, part of the rearing operation has used compost-barn housing, with covered resting areas containing sawdust and composted manure.
The farm reports that average output per cow has risen from 28 litres a day to 42 litres. More than half of the animals now average 49 litres a day. Reproductive management was also reorganised: the interval between calvings fell from 17 months in 2019 to 13 months, while the age at first calving declined from 28 months to 22 months. The pregnancy rate among heifers reached nearly 38%, compared with about 10% across the earlier reproductive programme. Female calves account for 72% of births, and male calves are sold to regional slaughterhouses as “China cattle” for export-oriented beef production. These animals are slaughtered at about 18 months and receive roughly R$2–3 more per arroba than ordinary cattle, according to market consultant Felipe Fabbri.
