In Uruguay beef cattle production is the main source of income in 24848 farms, covering an area of 11.5 million hectares, being 55% of those farms classified as family. The main productive orientation in family farming is cattle breeding, based on natural grasslands. This work is part of the extension and development project "Improving the sustainability of family farming", carried out by the National Institute of Agriculture Research and Plan Agropecuario of Uruguay with AgResearch of New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017. The aim of this project is to increase the productivity and quality of natural resources in family cattle farms.