Among the millions of cows in the world, there is one that stands out from other cattle.
Super cow Viatina-19 FIV Mara Moveis currently holds the world record as the most expensive cow sold at auction.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Mara was sold on July 1, 2023 for $4.2 million.
Weighing over 1,100 kilograms, she is twice as heavy as the average adult for her breed.
Mara sold for three times more than the previous record holder.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Viatina-19 FIV Mara Movéis was sold for $4 million. Weighing over 1,100 pounds, she is twice as heavy as the average adult for her breed.
Ney Pereira and his daughter, veterinarian Lorrany Martins, give an interview in a stable on his farm in Uberaba, Minas Gerais state, Brazil
Brazil’s cattle industry is a major source of cash flow for the country’s economy and is the world’s largest beef exporter – and Viatina-19 is a testament to Brazil’s quest for the ultimate beef cow.
The million-dollar cow is the result of years of meticulous breeding.
Elite livestock auctions, with exorbitant price tags, turn prize winners into shared investments for wealthy farmers.
These meat industry moguls are playing a genetic lottery, harvesting eggs and sperm from champions.
Their goal: to create embryos that can be implanted into surrogate mothers in the hopes of giving birth to the next generation of super cows.
‘We don’t slaughter elite cattle. We are breeding them. And ultimately it’s going to feed the whole world,” Ney Pereira, one of Viatina’s owners, told AP News. “I think Viatina will provide that.”
But what makes this cash cow worth all that money?
Lorrany Martins, a veterinarian and daughter of Pereira, said the cow’s price tag is based on a trifecta of three desirable traits: rapid muscle growth, exceptional fertility and, most importantly, the consistent ability to pass these traits on to her calves.
Lorrany Martins, a veterinarian and daughter of Pereira, said the cow’s price tag is based on a trifecta of three desirable traits: rapid muscle growth, exceptional fertility and, most importantly, the consistent ability to pass these traits on to her calves.
Other factors include the cow’s good posture, strength of hooves, docility, maternal abilities and beauty
She also said breeders are willing to pay as much as $250,000 to collect Viatina-19’s eggs.
“She is the closest to perfection that has been achieved so far,” Martins said. ‘It is a complete cow, with all the qualities that all owners are looking for.’
To put things into perspective, beef cows cost between $2,500 and $3,000 and are bred for meat production. A dairy cow costs roughly between $900 and $3,000 and is bred for milk production.