AMAZONAS, BRAZIL - In Autazes, milking in the cattle yards takes place without interruption, 365 days a year. It is like the chirping of crickets, as the ranch hands here like to say. This unrelenting work has a name, a surname and an address.

It generates income and jobs while driving the search for the highest quality artisanal coalho cheese in Brazil and the Amazon. Producers, ranchers and rural families created the Cheese Fair to introduce the product to consumers and major buyers, including large supermarket chains in Manaus. The traditional Autazes Cheese Fair has now reached its eighth edition, held in the Novo Céu community, an area known for its strong dairy production.

Autazes has a herd of approximately 90,000 cattle and dozens of buffalo and is recognized as one of Amazonas state’s main milk-producing hubs. But the pursuit of quality in the municipality’s cheese production has gone beyond the state’s borders. Producers from Amazonas have taken their cheeses to national and international exhibitions and competitions, putting the spotlight on a product made on rural properties in the Amazon.

The result has been a series of medals and awards, particularly for cheesemakers in Autazes and Parintins. In 2025, Amazonas won eight medals at Expo Queijo Brasil: four gold, three silver and one bronze. The competition brought together representatives from 16 countries, 18 Brazilian states and the Federal District.

Two cheesemakers from Autazes were among the highlights, winning four gold medals and one bronze. The recognition continued in 2026. At Expo Queijo Brasil 2026, cheesemakers from Amazonas returned to the podium, winning three gold medals and one silver.

Allan Kardeck Figueiredo, cattle rancher:
"The first trip we took was to the state of Minas Gerais through Sebrae. I was at the booth, and the phrase was, 'There's cheese in Amazonas!' When people saw the sign with the name Amazonas, they were surprised. We brought cheese with Brazil nuts, cheese with tucuma, and, thank God, it was a success."

Success does not happen by chance. Behind every award-winning cheese is a process that begins with caring for the herd, continues with milk quality and cheese-making and aging techniques, and ends with a constant pursuit of excellence.

Reporter — Luiz Moraes, Autazes:
"The pasture becomes very scarce at this time of year, during the dry season. And because of a lack of financial resources, particularly rural credit, producers cannot improve the pasture by building irrigated forage fields to improve the quality of the herd's feed."

The reporter and I visited the properties and the cheese-making facilities of two producers: Fazenda Peixe Boi, owned by Allan Kardeck Figueiredo, and the property of Arleane Costa.

Allan Kardeck Figueiredo has 90 breeding cows at Fazenda Peixe Boi, located along the road to the Novo Céu community in the rural area of Autazes, as well as dozens of buffalo cows grazing in floodplain pastures.

Encouraged by the awards, he began investing in technology and genetic improvement of the herd through artificial insemination. The result is the birth of more calves with high genetic quality.

Allan Kardeck Figueiredo, cattle rancher:
"It was the first year I used artificial insemination. In fact, I'm already seeing the results, right? This one is a Girolando offspring, and that one is a Holstein offspring. I'm starting to work with genetics.
We work here with both upland and floodplain land, right? It starts to improve after we move them to the floodplain. But because there is water, a lot of water, I'm managing to keep going here."

Arleane, who also manages the family's cheese-making operation, says she would hire more workers, increase productivity and add even more value to the cheese if she could obtain the rural credit she has long sought.

However, bureaucracy, barriers and environmental restrictions make it difficult to access financing. She currently produces 4,800 kilograms of cheese per month. With the expansion and modernization of the dairy facility, along with the construction of irrigated forage fields, production and revenue could triple.

Arleane Costa, cheesemaker:
"Production depends a lot on the season. For example, at this time of year, we are moving our animals to the floodplain. So there is not enough feed for the animals here.
The pasture is dry. We are even buying barley for our animals, and this greatly reduces the raw material — in this case, the milk. It decreases significantly. And sometimes this causes problems because we have contracts, and to maintain those contracts, we need to have enough production.
Today, we are producing 135 kilograms a day here at the cheese-making facility. That includes buffalo-milk coalho cheese, coalho cheese made with a blend of milks, seasoned cheeses and ricotta."

From the heart of the Amazon to tables across Brazil and around the world, cheese from Autazes is no longer merely a regional product.

It is evidence that quality, tradition and knowledge can transform rural production in Amazonas into an international benchmark.

Credits:
Images: Jackson Salvaterra
Reporter: Luiz Moraes, Autazes
Video editing: Ribamar Xavier
Interviews: Allan Kardeck Figueiredo, cattle rancher
Interview: Arleane Costa, cheesemaker
Duration: 06:37

Amazon Agency