Matrizes do Amanhã Identifies 1,000 Girolando Heifers in Ceará
The animals were marked in August 2026 at Agropecuária Vale do Castanhão in Limoeiro do Norte. The work forms part of Matrizes do Amanhã, a project led by Sistema Faec/Senar in partnership with the Government of Ceará.
The initiative is designed to expand access to animals with higher zootechnical value among small milk producers. Senar is expected to establish the conditions that interested farmers must meet, but those criteria have not yet been made public.
Other operational details also remain undisclosed. The project has not specified how many heifers each farm will receive, which municipalities will be included or when the animals will actually be delivered.
Programme material cites an expected production level of about 30 litres of milk per day. Available information does not establish whether that figure applies to each animal or represents the average performance of supported herds, and no calculation method has been published. The figure is therefore presented as a programme projection rather than a guaranteed result. Individual performance will also depend on feed, animal health, thermal comfort, reproductive management, water availability and genetic potential.
The heifer distribution is part of a broader dairy-genetics programme run by Faec and Senar. Since 2023, the organisations have operated an in-vitro fertilisation initiative with Sebrae and specialist companies. That programme distributes selected embryos to small and medium-sized livestock farmers and aims to achieve pregnancies in 2,000 recipient cows. Faec says it had reached roughly 60% of that target after about three years of implementation.
Faec is also pursuing measures in beef production. The organisation has outlined plans connected with a slaughterhouse in Iguatu, which is projected to begin operating in 2028 with an initial capacity of about 500 cattle per day, potentially rising to 1,000. Construction of the facility still depends on the completion of administrative procedures.
