OTTAWA — Brazilian farmers are putting dairy cows on the blockchain to secure loans as agricultural businesses struggle with conventional bank lending limits.Ten cows in the Southern Brazilian state of Paraná, were used to secure a loan worth 100,000 Brazilian reais, or about CAD$27,600, according to CoinDesk.The animals, valued at approximately CAD$33,000 CAD were each assigned an encrypted digital identity connected to data collected through smart collars.The collars, supplied by Brazilian agricultural technology company Cowmed, monitor the health, behaviour and location of each animal in real time.That information allows lenders to confirm that the cows exist, remain healthy and have not already been pledged as collateral for another loan.The transaction marks the first time tokenized dairy cattle have been formally accepted as collateral in a financing arrangement registered through B3, Brazil’s national stock exchange..The cows themselves were not converted into cryptocurrency or sold to digital investors. Instead, blockchain technology was used to create a secure record tying each animal to the loan.The loan was issued through a financial rural product certificate, known in Brazil as a CPR-F. The system allows farmers to borrow against livestock, crops and other agricultural assets.BMP Sociedade de Crédito Direto, a direct lender authorized by Brazil’s central bank, originated the loan. The credit rights were subsequently acquired by Target FIDC, an investment fund specializing in receivables, which registered the transaction through B3.Livestock can already be offered as security for traditional agricultural loans, but lenders frequently reduce the assessed value of cattle because their health, location and survival can be difficult to verify.Cattle offered as conventional collateral can reportedly be discounted by as much as 60%.Continuous monitoring could allow farmers to receive loans closer to the actual value of their animals while reducing the need for lenders to conduct physical farm inspections.The financing model comes as Brazilian farmers face elevated interest rates, falling commodity prices and weather-related losses.Agricultural bankruptcy-protection applications in Brazil rose to 1,990 in 2025, up from 534 two years earlier, according to credit reporting firm Serasa Experian.Four more farmers are reportedly being assessed for similar financing arrangements.Cowmed currently monitors approximately 100,000 cows across 1,200 farms in Brazil, Canada, the United States, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.The company estimates that as much as 20% of that herd could eventually be used as digitally verified loan collateral.
