USSEC was invited, through Pork Colombia (Colombian Swine Association), to participate in an event developed by Colanta, the largest dairy processing cooperative in Colombia. The event took place in San Pedro, Medellin on November 26, 2016.
Colanta owns three state of the art harvest plants where they process veal, dairy cows, and pork, each one in its own line in one big complex.
As a dairy cooperative, Colanta also encourages its associates to raise pigs and therefore warranties their pig input for the swine harvest plant. The weight of a market pig has increased over the years from 100 kilograms (kg) up to 150 kg. The workshop, aimed at swine producers associated to Colanta, was set to demonstrate that a good heavy pig puts out more meat when fed properly, than a lighter pig. This is of interest to pork producers since Colanta pays by the percentage of lean meat on pigs.
To prove the importance of proper nutrition in pigs, two pigs, weighing approximately the same amount, from different farms, and with different back fat, were picked to debone and measure the amount of lean meat. The animal with the least amount of back fat rendered more meat than the one with high levels of back fat. This simple but effective demonstration showed participants how proper nutrition and farm management can lead to a higher percentage of lean meat, and therefore a higher monetary compensation.
Staff from Colanta and their associates spoke very highly of the workshop and of USSEC consultant Julio Chaves, to the point that they want to repeat this event at least twice a year with more and different Colanta associates. USSEC will help Colanta demonstrate that a heavier pig does not necessarily mean more fat when proper nutrition is taken into account and that U.S. soybeans play an important role in this equation.