Kyle Peveto

As a child on a dairy farm in southern Brazil, Marcelo Vedovatto grew to love caring for cattle.

Now, from the pastures of the LSU AgCenter Dean Lee Research and Extension Center in central Louisiana, Vedovatto instructs American beef producers to raise strong, healthy cattle.

“I grew up with producers, and I have this feeling that I need to help producers make their system more profitable and more sustainable,” said Vedovatto, an assistant professor of beef cattle nutrition for the AgCenter.

Vedovatto grew up on his family’s dairy and poultry farm in Planalto Alegre in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. His family descended from Italian immigrants who settled there a century ago. Similar to many farms in the area, part of the top dairy-producing region for the country, they kept 30 to 40 cows, mostly Holsteins.

“It was a small farm,” he said. “This was my routine; waking up early, milking and feeding the cows with silage and concentrate, setting up temporary electric fences to move them through paddocks in a rotational grazing system. It was an enjoyable time in my life.”

When he began studying animal science at Santa Catarina State University, Vedovatto delved into beef production rather than dairy. Raising cattle is a major industry in Brazil, which has the world’s largest commercial beef herd.

“It attracted me more,” he said. “I like the system of beef cattle, and the large operations were very attractive, how they work and how intense it is. I like the ranch and the rancher’s life.”

The interest in beef production led Vedovatto to earn his master’s and doctoral degrees at Mato Grosso do Sul Federal University in Brazil. There, Vedovatto focused on animal nutrition, starting research on topics and methods he continues to pursue. He first came to the United States to complete postdoctoral research at the University of Florida, which introduced Vedovatto to farms similar to those found in Louisiana.

After returning to Brazil to teach for two years at Mato Grosso do Sul State University, Vedovatto joined the AgCenter in July of 2023. Vedovatto sees the extension work, which involves educating producers and answering their concerns, as vital to his research.

“Several times, I have seen in the field some questions that I’m not able to answer,” he said. “I look at the literature, and if I don’t find the answer, it gives me an argument to conduct research on that.”

In addition to research at Dean Lee, Vedovatto collaborates with the proprietors of the Choctaw Cattle Company, an LSU AgCenter model farm that uses innovative sustainable regenerative ranching techniques in St. Landry Parish. He studies their techniques, which include regular pasture rotations and incorporating chickens into the program, and offers suggestions when needed.

After 30 years of developing the farm, co-owner Dr. Angela Mayeux-Hebert, a retired orthopedist, was nervous about inviting a Ph.D. who would tear out her grass and rework their plans. “Dr. Marcelo,” as she calls Vedovatto, was the opposite.

“He’s just been a joy to work with,” Mayeux-Hebert said. “He’s very open-minded.”

One recommendation he offered for Choctaw was the use of baleage to feed cattle over winter. Created by quickly wrapping cut forage and causing it to ferment, baleage offers higher nutritional value than hay.

Beef cattle are the No. 2 animal commodity in Louisiana, and Vedovatto sees many ranchers working to improve even more. Several embrace the LSU AgCenter Master Cattleman programs and search for every edge.

“I see opportunities to improve even more than what we have today,” he said.

Vedovatto recommends most cattle producers try growth promoter implants that have been proven safe and cost only about $1.50 per head for a few months. He also studies trace mineral strategies that can help cattle receive the minerals they miss from grass produced in native soils and is creating a mineral formula for Louisiana producers. These minerals can greatly improve pregnancy rates, studies show.

“When a woman gets pregnant and she goes to see a doctor, the doctor prescribes vitamins and minerals,” he said. “For cows, it is exactly the same.”

Vedovatto looks forward to building a research program for Louisiana. He has settled into central Louisiana with his wife, Denise, and two sons, who are 3 and 6.

“My goal is to help the producers to produce more and also have an animal that’s consuming a better diet,” Vedovatto said. “I’m thinking about welfare. An animal that consumes a better diet will be a strong animal, a healthy animal and probably will have a better life, too.”

Kyle Peveto is the editor of Louisiana Agriculture.

This article appears in the spring 2026 edition of Louisiana Agriculture.

Marcelo Vedovatto, a beef cattle nutrition specialist, feeds cattle at the LSU AgCenter Dean Lee Research and Extension Center in Alexandria. Photo by Kyle Peveto