Zenobio Cortez Ríos is a leading cattle rancher of the Cattlemen’s Association of the District of Uchiza- El Oriente- AGDUO in the San Martín region in Peru. Zenobio has dedicated his entire life to livestock, even many challenges and threats such as terrorism, drug trafficking, and lately the strong expansion of oil palm cultivation. His livestock enterprise has remained sustainable through perseverance and a vision of the future, a lot of effort and commitment to the livestock development of his locality.
This dedication and drive were recognized in September 2020 when he was named a leading dairy in his region. However, at the age of 68, Zenobio has no plans of slowing down efforts of reaching his goals for his farm. Recently he has been trained by the GENEX CDP PERU program as an artificial insemination technician. The trainings in reproduction and genetics taught by GENEX coupled with Zenobio’s drive to improve has resulted in the creation of a genetic improvement plan based on his herd. The plan focuses on genetic traits with economic impacts and the strategic selection of heifers for replacement. Zenobio consulted CDP Mentor Eng. Óscar Vásquez on the traits to select for and how to implement fixed-time AI protocols So far it has been possible to inseminate 20 cows, obtaining a very efficient conception rate of 60%. In the jungle region, the climate is very hot which means that the animals must be able to tolerate and thrive in extreme conditions. This is why Zenobio decided to use the Girolando breed which is a cross between Gyr breeds and Holstein to capitalize on hybrid vigor to develop more efficiently, that is to say, adapted to conditions of the area, increasing milk production.
Additionally, Zenobio has been concerned with improving food, making the best possible management using cut grasses, and carrying out strategic supplementation based on the use of locally available inputs such as yellow corn, rice dust, and palm kernel cake.
Zenobio always looks for ways to bring to life the goal he has for his farm which he even has modeled in a diorama, so he always remembers his goals and his dreams for his dairy.
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