USSEC recently provided technical service in nutrition and feed technology to Dominican Republic feed mill technicians, along with participating in the Dominican Republic Dairy Producers Congress.  Consultant Carlos Campabadal traveled to the Dominican Republic to work with local consultant Pedro Lora.  They visited three feed mills together.  At the first mill, they reviewed the analysis of the mill’s last two shipments of U.S. soybean meal and went over the diets of laying hens.  The consultants reviewed and formulated some of the second feed mill’s broiler diets and discussed with its nutritionists various nutrition topics such as the use of sodium bicarbonate, the use of copper sulphate and hemicell, and the reduction of the phosphorus content by the use of phytate.  At the third feed mill, they reviewed the quality of a South American soybean meal and discussed the different causes that produce ulcers in pigs.  They discussed problems with fat quality and the different procedures used to evaluate the quality of the fat or oil.  They also talked about gastrointestinal integrity and its effect in pig and poultry performance, the Maillard reaction as a consequence of overcooked soybean meal and the differences between soluble and insoluble carbohydrates.

Mr. Campabadal and Mr. Lora also participated in the Dominican Republic Dairy Producers Congress where Mr. Campabadal spoke on the topics of "Feeding Dairy Cattle" and "Supplementation Strategies."  During his talks, Mr. Campabadal answered many questions related to dairy nutrition and management such as the use of soybean meal in dairy diets and feeding programs for lactating and transition cows, among others.