American Brahman Breeders Association travels to Vietnam
An American delegation representing ABBA and the American Brahman breed recently traveled to Vietnam. Joe Paschal, livestock specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Armelinda Ibarra, ABBA recording secretary, and Carolyn Falgout, owner of K Bar Farms, attended and spoke at the ABBA workshop titled “Achieving Reproductive Success Utilizing the American Brahman Cow;” this workshop was sponsored in part by the Texas Department of Agriculture. The workshop was attended by 60 Vietnamese government officials and cattle industry professionals with backgrounds in reproductive physiology, genetics and ruminant nutrition.
The workshop began with opening remarks by Pham Cong Thieu, vice director general of the Vietnamese National Institute of Animal Science and Nguyen Van Trong, deputy director of livestock development for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. During the workshop, Paschal gave four presentations focusing on the nutritional requirements and reproductivity of Brahman cattle, Armelinda Ibarra presented on the global nature of the Brahman breed, Carolyn Falgout presented on selecting Brahman cattle, and Ngo Thi Kim Cuc spoke about cattle production in Vietnam. After the workshop, the delegation visited the Moncada Breeding Research Center, where red Brahman bulls from Cuba, Australia and the United States are collected; this semen is used in Vietnamese crossbreeding programs.
ABBA and TDA had additional meetings with Vietnamese officials, including Phung Duc Tien, deputy minister of Agriculture, and Nguyen Van Trong. “Both meetings were highly successful. We received first hand communication of interests to develop a beef cattle industry in Vietnam from both offices with a special focus on the continued importation of American Brahman genetics,” said Ibarra. “They are extremely interested in working with the U.S. in the available tools and technology as well as obtaining the education necessary for them to reach their goals.” ABBA looks forward to continuing work with Vietnam to advance the inclusion of American Brahman genetics throughout the Vietnamese cattle herds.
