Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
6 min of reading 
3 comments 
When The 13-Year-Old Girl Takes Over The Farm After Her Father’s Death, She And Her Mother Decide To Stay In The Country, Bet On Senepol Genetics, Firm Management, And A Lot Of Study To Save The Property And Grow In Livestock.
When The 13-Year-Old Girl Takes Over The Farm, The Family Loses At Once The Father, The Manager, And The Main Right-Hand Man Of The Business. The Easiest Option Would Be To Sell Everything And Move To The City, But Mother And Daughter Choose The Harder Path: To Stay In The Country, Face Prejudice, And Learn To Manage Livestock Seriously, With Technical Handling And Business Vision. Years Later, This Decision Turns The Property In Rio Das Antas, In Santa Catarina, Into A Reference In Senepol Genetics.
Today, At 26, Maria Vitória Proença Looks Back And Sees The Weight Of That Choice. What Started With A 13-Year-Old Girl Taking Over The Farm Amid Mourning Became A Structured Project, Focused On Genetic Improvement, Livestock Cycle Planning, And Providing Technical Services To Other Producers.
Her Story Shows That In Agriculture, There Is No Space For Adventure: There Is Either Management, Or The Land Takes Its Toll.
-
The eggshell that almost everyone throws away is made up of about 95% calcium carbonate and can help enrich the soil when crushed, slowly releasing nutrients and being reused in home gardens and vegetable patches.
-
This farm in the United States does not use sunlight, does not use soil, and produces 500 times more food per square meter than traditional agriculture: the secret lies in 42,000 LEDs, hydroponics, and a system that recycles even the heat from the lamps.
-
The water that almost everyone throws away after cooking potatoes carries nutrients released during the preparation and can be reused to help in the development of plants when used correctly at the base of gardens and pots, at no additional cost and without changing the routine.
-
The sea water temperature rose from 28 to 34 degrees in Santa Catarina and killed up to 90% of the oysters: producers who planted over 1 million seeds lost practically everything and say that if it happens again, production is doomed to end.
When The 13-Year-Old Girl Takes Over The Farm Amid Mourning
Maria Vitória Was Only 13 Years Old When Her Father, Seu Antônio, Passed Away. He Was The Manager Of The Family Business, The Man In Charge Of The Farm, Responsible For Decisions And Day-To-Day Life In The Field.
Suddenly, Mother And Daughter Had To Decide Whether They Would Dismantle Everything Or Face The Responsibility Of Keeping The 48-Hectare Property, Located 25 Kilometers From The City, Alive.
At That Time, There Was No Internet Or Phone On The Farm, Access To Knowledge Was Complicated, And The Structure Was Simple: Extensive Management In Native Pastures, Cattle Year-Round On Grazing, White Salt, Deworming A Few Times A Year, And A Basic Vaccination Schedule.
Nonetheless, The Choice Was Clear. Instead Of Running Away, The 13-Year-Old Girl Takes Over The Farm Alongside Her Mother And Decides To Learn, Step By Step, How To Turn It Into A Sustainable Business.
Prejudice In The Field And The Challenge Of Being Young, Woman, And Manager
When The 13-Year-Old Girl Takes Over The Farm, The Gender Dynamics In Agriculture Were Still Little Discussed.
Vitória And Her Mother Heard Many Times That Livestock Was Not “A Woman’s Job,” That They Lacked “Muscle” Or Experience To Manage The Herd.
The Field Still Carried A Lot Of Prejudice, Especially Against Young Women In Positions Of Command.
Additionally, There Was Another Type Of Barrier: Banking Institutions, Cooperatives, And Suppliers Did Not Always Take A Young Rancher In Charge Of The Property Seriously.
Negotiating Credit, Inputs, And Services Required More Preparation, More Study, And, Above All, Constancy. Only With Results On Display – Well-Formed Lots, Organized Management, And Up To Date Accounts – Did The Respect Start To Come.
From Extensive Livestock To Senepol Genetics
The Second Major Turnaround Comes In 2016. In A Virtual Auction, Vitória Falls In Love With Senepol Animals, The “Big Ones” She Saw On Screen.
Curiosity Became Strategy: She Sought Information, Talked With Technicians, And Decided To Introduce The Breed On The Farm.
That Same Year, The First 10 Embryos Arrived, Resulting In Three Matrices; Two Still Belong To The Herd Today.
From The Beginning, Mother And Daughter Started Working With Embryo Sales And Senepol Genetic Selection, Often Bringing Professionals From Other Regions Of The Country To Attend To The Property.
Vitória Highlights The Docility Of The Animals, The Ease Of Management, The Good Performance On Pasture, And The Early Maturity: Males Gain Weight Faster, Shortening The Livestock Cycle Without Losing Quality.
Management, Nutrition, And Improvement: The Basis Of Firm Management
For Vitória, There Is No Miracle Secret. She Always Repeats That Results Come From The Balance Between Management, Nutrition, And Genetic Improvement.
All Females Are Inseminated, Bulls Are Prepared And Sold With Defined Selection Criteria, And When There Is Demand, The Farm Also Offers Embryos To The Market, According To Each Client’s Project.
The Property Combines Native Pasture, Crop Areas With Grasses Like Oats And Ryegrass, And Strategic Confinement Periods, Especially During Times Of Higher Nutritional Demand.
Supplementation With Corn Silage And More Concentrated Feed Is Provided In The Final Stretch Before Auctions And Exhibitions, Ensuring Finish And Performance Without Excessive Measures.
Everything Is Planned As A System: Cold Weather, Frosts, Harsh Winters, And Hotter Summers Require Fine Planning.
Senepol In The Cold Of The South: Adaptation And Results In The Field
One Of The Most Common Questions Vitória Is Asked Is Whether Senepol Genetics Adapts To The Cold In The South. The Answer Lies In The Herd Itself.
The Animals Go Through Frequent Frosts And Low Temperatures, But Respond Positively: In Winter, The Coat Grows Denser, Protecting Against The Cold; In Summer, The Coat Shortens And Returns To The Racial Standard, Showing Hardiness And Good Adaptation To The Milder Climate.
This Performance In The Field Reinforces The View That The 13-Year-Old Girl Takes Over The Farm Not Only For The Emotion But For The Ability To Understand What Makes Technical Sense For The Property’s Reality.
The Choice Of Breed, The Design Of The Herd, And The Type Of Management Were Designed To Work Within The Relief, Climate, And Economic Conditions Of The Family.
Eye On The Market, Livestock Cycle, And Decisions Without Attachment
In Addition To The Corral, Vitória Also Keeps An Eye On The Market. When She Is Not In The Pastures, She Is On Social Media, In Courses, Lectures, Field Days, Or Monitoring Indicators That Help Decide The Next Steps.
Part Of The Farm Area Is Leased, And The Income Serves As Capital For Buying Matrices And Investing In Genetics.
She Also Works With Other European Breeds, Such As Brahford, Adjusting The Herd According To The Livestock Cycle Changes.
At Times, Selling Recently Calved Cows That Are Already Artificially Inseminated Is More Financially Interesting Than Keeping The Animals Until Weaning.
There Is No Romantic Attachment To The Herd: There Are Numbers, Deadlines, And Strategy, Always Keeping An Eye On How The Market Challenges The Producer To Retreat On Some Fronts And Advance On Others.
Heavy Routine, Constant Learning, And The Memory Of The Father
The Daily Life Is Busy. There Are Few Hours When Vitória Is Not Checking The Pastures, Inspecting Fences, Taking Care Of The Animals, And Aligning Production Details.
At The Same Time, She Continues Studying, Inviting Technicians And Laboratories Into The Farm, Testing New Technologies, And Filtering What Really Adds To The Production System.
In Many Moments, The Memory Of Her Father Strongly Resurfaces. She Acknowledges That She Cannot Imagine Herself In Any Other Profession Other Than Rancher And That His Encouragement Was Decisive For The 13-Year-Old Girl To Have The Courage To Take Over The Farm Back Then. The Feeling Is Of Shared Pride: Everything That Exists Today Still Bears The Family’s Signature.
“Girl From The Livestock Industry”: Vanity, Social Media, And Inspiration For Other Women
In Addition To Being A Rancher, Vitória Is Also An Active Presence On Social Media, Showcasing The Behind-The-Scenes Of Production, Challenges, Successes, And Mistakes.
Always Stylish, With Long Nails And A Firm Posture, She Takes Care To Show That Being A Woman In Agriculture Does Not Mean Giving Up Caring For Oneself.
She Uses Her Own Story To Encourage Other Female Producers To Take Up Space In Technical And Strategic Decisions Within Their Properties.
For Vitória, Respecting One’s Own Body And Identity Is Part Of The Same Discipline That Keeps The Farm Afloat: When A Person Is At Peace With Herself, The Rest Does Not Easily Bring Her Down.
Ultimately, The Journey Summarizes The Theme Well: A 13-Year-Old Girl Takes Over The Farm, Faces Prejudice In The Field, Bets On Senepol Genetics, Firm Management, And Early Business Vision – And Proves That Leadership In Agriculture Knows No Age Or Gender.
If You Were In Her Shoes, At 13 Years Old With An Entire Farm On Your Hands, Would You Stay In The Country To Face Livestock Head-On Or Choose Another Path?
Olá
Minha vida quando solteiro trabalhava no sítio com meu pai.
Mas casei fui trabalhar na cidade.
Dois anos após meu pai faleceu.
Por motivos familiares não dei seguimento nos negócios do sítio.
Está frustração carrego comigo.
Admiro muito a determinação de Vitória e sua mãe.
Deus lhes abençoe grandemente.
Sucesso sempre.
Com certeza seguiria na fazenda,com Deus,amor e dedicação podemos vencer, principalmente o preconceito magista.
Sim também ficaria! Porque depois de anos na enfermagem estou ajudando meu marido a tocar uma leitaria! Estávamos só ficando no vermelho! Agora estamos ainda no vermelho, mas há despontando lá na frente um novo horizonte!!