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New Zealand dairy expertise was showcased in Brazil in July as Chief Executive David Chin and International Market Development Manager Barry Allison joined Brazilian, Argentine and New Zealand dairy farmers and industry experts to discuss the future of pasture-based milk production.
The visit highlighted the increasingly important role that pasture, genetics, farm management and technology can play in helping dairy farmers produce milk efficiently in challenging climates.
Brazil is one of the world’s major dairy-producing countries. The country produced 35.7 billion litres of milk in 2024, 27.5 billion litres of that milk going to Dairy processors.
Against this backdrop, the July visit provided an opportunity to explore how pasture-based systems are evolving in Brazil and how international collaboration can help farmers improve their productivity and resilience.
Learning from farmers across three countries
The first part of the visit took place in the state of São Paulo at Fazenda Pedra Branca, home of Queijaria Mogiana.
The farm hosted a day focused on milk production from pasture, bringing together approximately 100 farmers, consultants and industry representatives.
The event was closely connected with cubeta llena, the influential dairy technology-transfer programme developed by Embrapa under the guidance of the late Dr. Artur Chinelato.
Established in 1998, Balde Cheio uses participating farms as practical learning environments, helping farmers and advisers apply technology, management and production knowledge to real-world dairy businesses. The programme has become an important mechanism for transferring research into practical dairy farming across Brazil.
The programme’s emphasis on practical learning was evident throughout the day, with farmers able to see pasture management, genetics, animal comfort, young-stock management and production systems being applied on farm.
The international nature of the event was also significant.
Argentine dairy farmer Jock Campbell, from TamboDem in Buenos Aires Province, shared his experience of developing a commercially focused and resilient dairy farming system.
TamboDem was established by Jock and Hilda Campbell as both a commercial dairy and demonstration farm, with the objective of sharing practical knowledge and helping dairy farmers improve their profitability and quality of life.
LIC Chief Executive David Chin presented on strategies used by New Zealand dairy farmers to manage their businesses through periods of economic pressure.
The programme reflected a common theme across the three countries: successful pasture-based dairy farming is not about simply producing more milk, but about producing milk efficiently from the resources available.
As Chin has previously noted, New Zealand’s pasture-based system places particular value on balanced cows that combine production, fertility, efficiency, longevity and the ability to walk and graze effectively.
From pasture to premium cheese
Holding the event at a small dairy farm producing milk for high-value specialty cheeses added another dimension to the discussion.
Rather than treating milk as an undifferentiated commodity, the farm is developing value through products including blue, Brie, Camembert and washed-rind cheeses.
That approach is particularly relevant in São Paulo, where the artisanal cheese industry is expanding rapidly. The São Paulo state government reported that the number of registered artisanal cheese producers increased by 300% between 2022 and 2025, with almost 60 officially recognised artisanal cheese operations now operating across the state.
The development demonstrates another opportunity for pasture-based dairy: creating value not only through the efficiency of milk production, but through the way milk is processed, differentiated and presented to consumers.
The event also attracted representatives of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, reinforcing the broader commercial and agricultural relationship between New Zealand and Brazil.
A New Zealand dairy system adapted to Brazil
The second part of the trip took the group to Fazenda Leite Verde in Jaborandi, Bahia, the home of the Leitíssimo dairy brand.
Leite Verde is one of the most notable examples of New Zealand pasture-based dairy thinking being adapted to a Brazilian environment.
The operation was established after New Zealand investor Simon Wallace spent 18 months visiting around 300 Brazilian dairy farms to identify a location capable of supporting a pasture-based dairy system. Jaborandi in Bahia was selected for its climate, land and potential for irrigated pasture production.
The farm subsequently developed a large-scale pastoral dairy system using principles adapted from New Zealand farming.
Leite Verde is one of Brazil’s largest pasture-based dairy operations, with cattle managed without confinement and pasture production supported by irrigation.
The operation has developed well beyond simply copying a New Zealand farm; it represents an example of how the principles of pasture-based dairy production can be adapted to a completely different climate, scale and market.
Managing heat in a changing dairy environment
Heat tolerance was a major focus of the discussions at Leite Verde.
For dairy farmers operating in tropical and subtropical regions, managing heat stress is becoming increasingly important. Heat stress can reduce feed intake, milk production and fertility while also affecting animal welfare.
The visit provided an opportunity to discuss both management and genetic approaches to the challenge.
Management strategies such as shade, access to water, pasture management and adjusting grazing times are already important tools for tropical dairy farmers.
Genetics offers another potential avenue.
LIC has been developing a breeding programme around the SLICK genetic variant, which produces a shorter hair coat and is associated with improved ability to cope with heat.
LIC scientists first identified the SLICK 1 variant in 2014 and have subsequently been incorporating it into elite New Zealand dairy genetics as part of their research. Research on SLICK dairy cattle has found that animals carrying the variant maintained lower body temperatures than non-SLICK animals under heat-load conditions.
The objective is not simply to produce a cow that can tolerate heat. LIC’s breeding programme is focused on combining heat tolerance with the production, fertility and other characteristics required of high-performing dairy cattle. Current research continues to assess the performance of SLICK animals as the programme progresses.
At Leite Verde, the visiting group was able to see examples of what the SLICK genetics could look like within a herd and discuss the potential relevance of heat-tolerant genetics to Brazilian dairy production.
Building international connections
The Leite Verde visit brought together LIC’s distribution partners from Argentina and Uruguay with farm managers and large-scale dairy farmers from both countries.
This created a great opportunity to compare dairy systems across New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and to discuss the common challenges facing pasture-based farmers.
While the production systems and climates are different, many of the underlying questions are the same:
- How do we produce more valuable milk from pasture?
- How do we breed cows that are better suited to the system?
- How do we maintain fertility and longevity?
- And how do we keep cows productive and comfortable as temperatures rise?
For LIC, those questions are at the heart of its international genetics programme.
The cooperative has invested in research aimed at improving the efficiency and resilience of dairy cattle, including genomic technologies and research into traits such as heat tolerance. LIC Chief Executive David Chin has emphasised that the organisation’s role is to help farmers produce more efficient animals while continuing to invest in solutions for a changing dairy industry.
The Brazil visit demonstrated the value of taking that research beyond New Zealand and putting it into the context of different farming environments.
It also highlighted that international dairy development is not a one-way transfer of knowledge.
Brazil has developed its own sophisticated approaches to tropical pasture management, farm-scale dairy production and value-added dairy products. Argentina and Uruguay bring their own extensive experience of pasture-based milk production, while New Zealand contributes decades of experience in pasture systems, genetic selection and cooperative dairy development.
The opportunity lies in bringing those experiences together.
A shared future for pasture-based dairy
Pasture-based dairy farming has significant potential in Brazil, but its success depends on treating pasture, genetics, animal management and business performance as parts of one system.
From the small São Paulo farm turning pasture-derived milk into premium cheeses, to the large-scale Leite Verde operation producing and processing milk in Bahia, the Brazilian dairy industry is demonstrating that there is no single model for successful pasture-based production.
For LIC, the opportunity is to contribute genetics and knowledge while learning from farmers who are adapting those systems to some of the world’s most challenging dairy environments.
The visit reinforced the importance of collaboration between farmers, researchers, advisers and businesses across international borders.
As Brazil’s dairy industry continues to evolve, the combination of Brazilian innovation, Argentine and Uruguayan pasture expertise and New Zealand genetics and farming knowledge provides a strong foundation for the next generation of efficient, resilient pasture-based dairy systems.
