Conversation with the Producer – Simão Stecklein, Lapa/PR

"We started selling cheese in 1998. My grandmother used to make and sell cheese every Friday in the city. My mother helped with sales, but after my grandmother's retirement, we began selling milk in 2012 with nine lactating cows, producing 360 liters every two days. In 2018, we had twenty-eight dairy cows, and that's when we built the first shed on the property, with a capacity for forty cows in a free-stall system. In September 2019, we started milking in the milking parlor, built next to the free-stall." 

Simão continues: "We faced some difficulties with the terrain and excessive mud, as well as instability in milk prices, so in 2022, we decided to confine the entire herd, intensifying production. Since then, we have fifty dairy cows, producing 2,300 liters of milk per day. In total, we have one hundred animals in the herd, and currently, we operate with two sheds and a milking parlor." 

"I see nutrition as a key factor in maintaining high production and herd efficiency. Achieving good results was only possible through the use of quality products," says Simão. 

"The partnership with De Heus began in 2018, and I was the first producer in the region to use De Heus products. De Heus, along with the field technical team, has been immensely helpful, from silage production to animal feeding, with technicians always present. Here on the farm, we apply De Heus concepts from calf rearing to lactating cows, such as Kaliber and Prelacto, among other technologies available for lactating cows, like Synchrolac feed, protected fat, minerals, and buffering agents, which have made a significant difference in animal productivity, allowing us to grow and improve continuously." 

"I believe cow health is always essential for good milk production. The motto we have here is that good production starts with high-quality silage, ample comfort, well-managed handling, and balanced nutrition, and the De Heus field team handles this flawlessly."

"In the Lapa/PR region, producers have heavily invested in dairy production. Therefore, we always aim for genetic improvement and also the production of high-quality food for maximum efficiency. One of my goals is to have at least sixty lactating cows so that, in the near future, I can install a milking robot on the farm."

De Heus has been working robustly in assisting dairy farms. Guilherme Leão, Commercial Technical Supervisor at De Heus Brasil and responsible for supervising the assistance to properties in the South region, has been assisting the producer since 2021 in taking the right steps towards innovation on the farm. "It is very gratifying to see the advances we have had around here, and certainly, Simão will be an even greater reference for the region," says Guilherme.