Productive profile of cattle-rearing farms in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2002

Abstract

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, with the aim to assess aspects of cattle production. A multistage clustering model was used to select 2,202 farms in seven cattle production strata in the state, and a questionnaire was applied to obtain information related to the characterization of the farms and their management of animal reproduction and production. The study showed that livestock-rearing in Minas Gerais continues to be unspecialized. Triângulo Mineiro and North were the regions that used most technology and had highest beef cattle activity. The Zona da Mata region showed the least use of technology and had the smallest farms. Milk production in this state was distributed among all strata, but was concentrated among a few producers in the stratum of highest production, especially in the region of Alto Paranaíba. This study showed a great heterogeneity among the strata regarding the characteristics of type of exploitation, type of rearing, herd size, specialization and milk production. Thus, it validated the stratification established by the Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Abastecimento – MAPA (Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply), thereby suggesting that these strata should be maintained for further epidemiological studies.

Accidental exposure to Brucella abortus vaccines and occupational brucellosis among veterinarians in Minas Gerais state, Brazil

“…This finding is alarming due the great importance of brucellosis vaccine exposure related to labour activities among veterinarians in Minas Gerais (Table 2) and is probably associated with farm infrastructure that is insufficient to safely perform vaccinations. In fact, the state of Minas Gerais has predominantly small properties (median of 54 animals per herd), and the structures of the facilities are usually deficient (Alves et al., 2018; Gonçalves et al., 2009; Oliveira et al, 2016). Moreover, Minas Gerais has the third largest cattle herd in the country (IBGE, 2017) and performs approximately 1.70 million brucellosis vaccinations per year (Minas Gerais, 2017), which promotes more opportunities for involuntary exposure to vaccines.…”

“…This cross‐sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to May 2019 in Minas Gerais state, located in southeastern Brazil, with an area of 588,383 km 2 . The state was divided into seven regions (strata) of bovine production, as previously proposed in epidemiological studies conducted in cattle (Figure 1) (Gonçalves et al., 2009; Oliveira et al, 2016) and validated by (Alves et al., 2018). Each stratum exhibits different regional characteristics related to livestock activities, such as production systems, average herd size and sanitary practices (Alves et al., 2018; Gonçalves et al., 2009; Oliveira et al, 2016).…”

“…The division of the state of Minas Gerais into seven strata was evaluated and validated by two different studies conducted approximately 10 years apart to assess the prevalence of bovine brucellosis in the state (Gonçalves et al., 2009; Oliveira et al, 2016). This division consider the different bovine productive characteristics of each stratum (Alves et al., 2018). Therefore, a stratified sampling was used to calculate the population to be sampled in each stratum, according to the heterogeneous distribution of the population of veterinarians working in each region of the state (Table 1).…”

“…In order to ensure the representativeness of the sample in all regions of the Minas Gerais state, which has 853 municipalities, and to assess a possible association between the occurrence of brucellosis in animals and humans, the veterinarians were proportionally assigned to each cattle producing region in state, according to their residential (Gonçalves et al, 2009;Oliveira et al, 2016). This division consider the different bovine productive characteristics of each stratum (Alves et al, 2018). Therefore, a stratified sampling was used to calculate the population to be sampled in each stratum, according to the heterogeneous distribution of the population of veterinarians working in each region of the state (Table 1).…”

Seroprevalence and intercurrence of reproductive pathogens in cattle from family farms in North of Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…More than of 76.43% of the farms keep livestock in the extensive system, 23.24% in the semi-confined system and only 0.33% in the confined system. The cattle herds are predominantly small, with a median of 30 animals per farm (L. F. Oliveira, 2016;Alves et al, 2018). The main beef breeds are Zebu (Nellore and Gyr) and their crossbreeds.…”