Without a schedule and what to do on the property, he decided to consult with Dr. Gabriel Andrade, owner of the company he was working for, reporting his purchase and his indecision on what to do. That’s when he suggested to hUM: Why not raise the Gir cattle? It logically gave him the reasons for this direction extolling the qualities of the dual aptitude breed.

In the same year, he acquired twenty-six Gir heifers and a young bull – Espantoso – which at the time had just turned two years old. Some of the heifers were already newly grafted. We highlight here the heifer Cenoura that at 10 years old had already given her 7th calf and 4,384 kg of milk.

He learned from a lot of, because he, without facilities for cattle, without pastures and with a very precarious house. In 1973, after having recovered from the first clashes, he acquired from Mr. Mauricio Andrade – brother of Dr. Gabriel – a batch of around 14 heifers and cows, some with calves at their feet. In 1974, he started doing artificial insemination where he acquired several doses of semen from famous bulls of the time.

In mid 1974, he enrolled his squad in the Milk Control of ABCZ – Associação Brasileira dos Criadores de Zebu – where he could observe the good performance of Espantoso’s daughters. He noticed that the production of the Gir cows was superior to that of the crossbred cows in the region of his farm. He was then the only pure Gir creator in the Region. It was new encouragement to improve his squad. In February 1981, he acquired 25 heifers and cows from Mr. Miguel Ângelo C. Cançado, all from the Brasília farm owned by Mr. Rubens Rezende Peres, all daughters of bulls that were the stronghold of that renowned breeding farm: Hindustan, Darlan, Ramada, Japan, etc.

On the same occasion, a Gado Gir dairy contest was held, in Belo Horizonte, where he took 5 daughters of the Espantoso, achieving 2nd to 4th, 5th to 6th and 8th place, which gave him redoubled spirit. He was awarded in other contests for six years in a row.

Around this time, in 1982, taken by the great impulse that the Nelore cattle reached, Mr. Torres Homen Rodrigues da Cunha, decided to sell his Gir herd, where Dr. Souto acquired it, cattle coming directly from the 1962 importation, with excellent racial characterization and size and some with good milk production, such as Jalam da Zebulândia, future mother of Radar dos Poções and Janã da Zebulândia, mother with production above 5,800 kg of milk and mother of Bombay, son of Naidu(Imp .), sold to Colombia, where it stood out. He also acquired semen from the Atmã bull, son of the famous Bagaliyo bull with Malu, both imported from the squad of the Maharaja of Bhavnagar.

The best sires in India, at the time, were sons of Bagaliyo, such as: Dilip, Pushpa, Gamano, Rada and Pâma and their daughters were milk record holders in India. Cattle that were in the famous center of Gado Gir: Nassik.

Due to the rise of the Nelore cattle and the fall of the Gir breeders, a group of breeders taking advantage of the breed’s dual aptitude, decided to found the Associação dos Criadores do Gir Leiteiro – ABCGIL – where Fazenda dos Poções was one of the participants as founder. From that time on, growth was vertiginous.

In a short time, the lactation of the cows went from an average of 1,500 kg of milk to 3,500 kg, where genetics, management, food and sanitation prevailed. Today high rates are being reached.

On this same occasion, semen was purchased from the famous Gir bulls: Degas, with several daughters over 5,000kg of milk, Canário DI PO, Katmandu, Folklore ZC, Bahadursinghji, Caxangá, Verdeu Zeb., Ringo JZ and many others.

In 1988 he acquired twelve cows from Fazenda Cachoeira, all with high racial quality, all daughters of Krishna’s direct descent, four of which stood out in milk production, such as Potência DC with lactation above 6,200kg.

In 1989, he acquired eight cows from Mr. Torres Lincoln Rodrigues da Cunha, most of them from the Eco bull from Sundanagar – the famous Ceguinho – and from Subud, some with good milk production.

Going deeper into the analysis of the cattle, he verified the low availability of bulls with reliable data, as well as the weak racial characterization and size of the Leiteiro Gir in the farms where he visited were few at the time.

Some questions were left unanswered. It was then that he decided to get to know cattle in their origin: India. Country that he already knew in 1975, he visits this one as a tourist. The first technical visit took place in 1985.

Back in Brazil, he returned to the study and evaluation of his own cattle, using what was observed and assimilated in India. He felt then that everything was going to be too slow. He was accompanied on this journey by Mr. Pradip B.Raol, as well as his father – Mr. Bahadursinghji – who worked with the Maharaja of Bhavnagar and a great connoisseur of Indian cattle. Where you can learn a lot. On this occasion, he asked Pradip for his services, as he had worked with Mr.Rubico Carvalho and Celso Garcia Cid, in which he was promptly answered, where he started to have his base in India.

Returning to India, where he stayed for 32 days, he traversed the entire Girista territory where he discovered – Pradip and him – three exceptional bulls, after having seen at least 15 to 20 sires: Premnath, Dadamiyo and Gorak, the latter recently champion in India. All of them of excellent racial characterization and size, in addition to daughters with good milk production. Pradip advised him not to trade the bulls, because for Brazilians the price would be at least five times higher. Later, on other trips, you can see this fact. Pradip did the shopping. That’s what happened.

They arranged for the bulls to go to Pradip’s property, where he would be responsible for removing the semen, a task he had been doing for a long time, including for Nelore breeders.

Other trips were made – six more – where they acquired the Gir bulls: Madhul (1,284kg), Nano Sudhano, Roopano Vod, Tilak, Chandan, Sakinano, Tokariyo, as well as five cows like Tokar (Tokariyo’s mother) who weighed 804kg and 32.4 kg of milk. Taking advantage of his travels, he acquired seven Nelore bulls, two Guzerá and semen from Tarparkar and Sahiwal bulls (The best dairy cattle in India and that Australia used to make its dairy cattle by crossing it with Holstein).

In exports to Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela and others, all productions of this cattle, offspring of Indian oxen, were preferred by foreign breeders, which is why these products were largely lacking, mainly Gorak and Dadamiyo.

In 1992, he started the embryo transplant on the Poções farm. The main cows of the farm were selected as: Ondina dos Poções, Flirt Poções, Querida Poções, Quitandinha Poções, DC Potency, Esperança Poções, Vanita Poções, Chandrakali Poções, Tenderness Poções, Galaxy Poções, Ingrid Poções, Litosphere Poções, Juliana Poções, Jacina Poções and others that from the moment the IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) was started, the Poções farm started this process, always looking for the best and most modern techniques to update and improve Gir cattle. TBelow are some Bulls that were used in our squad:

Natal – Son of Cenoura and Degas Radar of Poções – Son of Jalam Zeb. and Degas, first place in the ABCZ Summary with 632.60 PTA and 0.87 Accuracy in 10 herds and 68 daughters in 2005, 2nd place in the ABCZ Bulls Summary in 2006 and 1st PLACE IN THE BULL SUMMARY IN 2007, with PTA of 701.21 – 0.90 BC – in 16 herds with 71 daughters. Amazing – Son of Krishna Sakina Pushpa with Junction.

Poções Major TE – Son of Astonishing with Poções Flirt – In Progeny Test. Bombay of the Poções – Son of Naidu Imp. With Janã da Zebulândia.

Emulo dos Poções – Son of Radar dos Poções with Quiçaba dos Poções, bull with great racial characterization and libido.

Sold to Bolivia and tested there with 153 daughters. Today our best option and one that has had great acceptance.

Lacustre TE dos Poções – Son of Radar dos Poções with Esperança dos Poções, exceptional cow, production over 6,400kg milk, from the best family on the farm.

Oriz dos Poções – Son of Teatro da Silvânia (Amazing X Nota) X Taynah dos Poções (Panama X Jardineira) . Best DNA for milk in the country. In progeny test.

Ozano TE dos Poções – Son of Premnath X Flirt. In Progeny test. Pluto TE dos Poções – Bem Feitor X Juliana dos Poções (Radar X Tacada dos Poções) one of the best cows on the farm with 5,200kg in the 1st lactation. In Progeny test.

In addition to the Indian bulls and others of renowned standard, our breeding has always been with the cattle in the field, as we do not have stalls for a better treatment. Cattle are raised rustically. We always do two milkings in the feed (at the base of 2.5 kg/cow day) and without the application of any product, such as hormones and other medicines that are widely used today in farms.

Our milking has been mechanized since 1996. Alfa Laval brand. In summary: Gir is a rustic cattle and that’s how we treat it, without ceasing to use the minimum rules of hygiene, sanity and giving them good pasture and silage in the dry season, because we almost always go eight months without rain: from March to October. Due to this rusticity, we always have news that our cattle exceeds the expectations of those who acquire them.

And it was thinking about the legacy he would leave in the Genetic Bank that was formed over these years, that Dr. Souto created Agro Pastoril dos Poções, which is currently putting in all its efforts to improve and perfect this breed so ancient and sacred that is the Dairy Gir.