The wonderful city of Granada has been the place selected this year to host the 7th edition of the Porc d’Or Ibérico Awards, awards for excellence in Iberian swine production. The awards, organized by the Institute for Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) with the collaboration of the Interprofessional Association of the Iberian Pig (ASICI) and the company Ceva Salud Animal, return this year to Andalusia, one of the most representative autonomous communities of Iberian pig production, bringing together more than 40% of the total national census.
The venue for the Awards will be the Hotel Granada Palace; The headquarters have recently had to be modified for reasons beyond the control of the organization. In this way, the Hotel Granada Palace will bring together on June 30 more than 450 professionals related to the Iberian pig sector to recognize the good work of the sector and, especially, of its farmers, rewarding the best Iberian pig farms in our country.
“After some organizational setbacks, we are delighted to be able to hold the Awards in this wonderful city of Granada. This is the second year that we can celebrate a totally face-to-face celebration without restrictions, so we hope to be able to share a Gala full of emotions and surprises with all the farmers and representatives of the Iberian pig sector”, point out from the organization of the awards.
The die is cast
On April 14, the jury for the Porc d’Or Ibérico awards met at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MAPA), in Madrid, to decide on the farms nominated and awarded in this seventh edition. A total of 62,400 Iberian breeding sows belonging to 78 farms spread throughout the national territory, mainly from the communities of Extremadura, Andalusia, Castilla León and Castilla La Mancha have been analyzed to select the nominated farms, including those that will be awarded with some of the precious gold, silver and bronze statuettes. These farms have been selected by the awards jury based on the regulatory criteria and the regulations of the Porc d’Or awards, and taking into account the balance and evolution of the results, the constant reliability of the information analyzed, as well as different parameters related to health, animal welfare and the environment.
The members of the jury who have evaluated this information are prominent personalities related to the world of pig farming and with in-depth knowledge of this sector: from the General Subdirectorate of Livestock and Hunting Productions of MAPA, José Luis Agüero, Deputy General Manager, Pablo Bernardos, Deputy Assistant General Manager, Jesús Salas, head of the swine area, and Ruth Morales, head of service; by the National Association of Pig Producers (ANPROGAPOR) its director Miguel Ángel Higuera; by the National Association of Select Pig Breeders (ANPS) its secretary Adoración Llorente; on behalf of the National Association of Iberian Swine Veterinarians (ANVEPI) its president Anselmo Perea; by IRTA, Carles Rosell, manager of the Animal Production area, Raquel Quintanilla, head of the Genetics and Animal Breeding program, and Llibertat Tusell, a researcher from the BDporc group; by the University of Córdoba, Vicente Rodríguez, professor of Animal Production; by the University of Murcia, Guillermo Ramis, professor of Animal Production; and swine veterinarians and consultants Juan Luis Criado, Jorge González, Ricardo García, Pedro López, Alberto Álvarez and José Antonio Pecero.
27 awards for the Iberian sector
The pig sector is characterized by its desire to excel, perseverance and constancy. Qualities that are displayed in the delivery of the Porc d’Or, registering an improvement in technical results every year. Thus, in each edition, Iberian pig farms are rewarded in relation to three main productive criteria: Live Births, Farrowing Rate and Longevity (Piglets weaned per sow on leave). Being the prizes assigned within each of the 3 categories established according to the size of the farms, a gold, a silver and a bronze statuette are awarded for each criterion in each category, which results in a total of 27 prizes.
Additionally, four farms stand out that will be awarded one of the Special Prizes based on more specific characteristics such as health, animal welfare and the environment (Special Iberian Porc d’Or from MAPA to Sustainability), integration with nature and the environment (Special Iberian Porc d’Or for Outdoor Production), the productivity (Special Iberian Porc d’Or for Maximum Productivity), as well as excellence in global management, animal handling and compliance with the main health, zootechnical and welfare standards (Special Iberian Porc d’Or with Diamond, the highest award).
BDporc, the pillar of the awards
The basis that supports the Porc d’Or Ibérico awards is the BDporc, the reference database of the Spanish Iberian pig, which reflects the efficiency and continuous improvement of Iberian pig production. This tool, managed by IRTA, is a service for the Spanish Iberian pig sector whose main objective is to have a reliable database that allows analyzing the situation of the Iberian pig and provides reference information to pig production companies such as aid in decision making.
