Juliet, a 72-pound Romosinuano calf, was born sometime around midnight at the Subtropical Agricultural Research Station at Brooksville, Fla. The station is part of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.

This little calf has a big future: Her breed offers Southeastern beef producers a new genetic source of greater fertility, more tender meat, stronger pest resistance and improved livestock temperament. Juliet’s biological parents from Venezuela are father JCT Pate Palo and mother JCT San Luis La Reliquia.

Juliet’s birth is the result of five years of scientific collaboration between U.S. and Venezuelan researchers. She developed from an embryo brought into the United States from Venezuela--one of the first bovine embryos allowed here from a country where foot-and-mouth disease still exists.

To ensure a successful, disease-free embryo transfer, USDA scientists and veterinarians teamed up with livestock breeding and genetics experts at the Central University of Venezuela at Maracay.

Both Juliet and her “surrogate mother,” a Senepol cow, are doing fine. Pictures of Juliet and other baby Romosinuanos will be available soon.

Scientific contact: Chad Chase, USDA-ARS Subtropical Agricultural Research Station, Brooksville, Fla., phone (352) 796-3385