OAN’s James Meyers
3:28 PM – Wednesday, June 5, 2024
The world’s most expensive cow has been sold in one South American country.
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Supercow Viatina-19 FIV Mara Movéis currently holds the world record for being the most expensive cow sold at auction.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Mara was sold for $4.2 million on July 1, 2023 in Brazil. Her sale price is three times more than the last record holder’s price.
Weighing over 2,400 pounds (1,100 kilograms), she’s twice as heavy as the average adult her breed.
In Brazil, the cattle industry is a major source of cash flow for the country’s economy. The country is the world’s top beef exporter.
The $4 million cow is a result of multiple years of meticulous breeding.
High-profile cattle auctions, with major price tags, turn prizewinners into shared investments for wealthy ranchers. These titans of the meat industry are playing a genetic lottery, harvesting eggs and semen from champions.
The goal of these tactics is to create embryos to be implanted in surrogate mothers, in hopes of birthing the next generation of super cows.
“We’re not slaughtering elite cattle. We’re breeding them. And at the end of the line, going to feed the whole world,” one of Viatina’s owners, Ney Pereira, told AP News. “I think Viatina will provide that.”
According to Lorrany Martins, a veterinarian and Pereira’s daughter, the massive amount is based on a trifecta of three desirable traits: rapid muscle growth, exceptional fertility and the consistent ability to pass these qualities on to her calves.
Additionally, other factors include the cow’s value posture, hoof solidity, docility, maternal ability and beauty.
Martins also said breeders are willing to pay an eye-popping $250,000 to collect Viatina-19’s egg cells.
“She is the closest to perfection that has been attained so far,” Martins said. “She’s a complete cow, has all the characteristics that all the proprietors are looking for.”
Beef cows cost between $2,500-$3,000 and are bred for meat production. Meanwhile, a dairy cow costs an estimated $900-$3,000 and is bred for milk production.
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