The Mercolacteahistorical exhibition of the sector organized for almost 20 years in Argentina, It will be held from 2023 in Uruguay – from Thursday June 1 to Saturday June 3, at Rural del Prado.as announced at a conference held at the El Puesto restaurant in Carrasco.
Declared of national and ministerial interest by the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) and presented as “the event of the dairy chain and more…”, will contain, among other attractions, a livestock show of dairy breeds, auctions, conferences, training, technical tours, a business round and trade show, thematic areas on women rural areas and the environment and the so-called “dairy Olympics”.
Aldo Ferrari, director of Mercolactea Argentinamentioned that for 17 years in Argentina it was a space “of integration in which the dairy industry expressed itself at the national level, with that same objective we want the Uruguayan dairy industry to express itself in Mercoláctea next year, we are launching a platform so that all the links of the chain come to be linked”.
The objective, he indicated, is to give visibility to the entire sector, so that it is known “how many people are behind a liter of milk that is bought in a gondola.” He added that the event will allow “everyone to be together, expressing what the Uruguayan dairy gives, to continue connecting with the world.”
Juan Luis Dellapiazza, director of Mercolactea Uruguayamong other considerations, pointed out that “it is a pride” to be at the head of the undertaking, which will be possible due to the management of a large team that has him at the helm together with Ferrari and Ruben Silvera, with the coordination of Mercedes Abín.
“Mercoláctea was not only a benchmark for the region, for Mercosur, it is for all of America and part of the world as well, for Uruguay it is really important to have an activity of these characteristics,” he said.
He explained that Montevideo was chosen as the venue due to the characteristics of the Rural del Prado property, which, for example, can provide the necessary comforts for those who work with animals, also because of the hotel capacity to receive delegations that will arrive from abroad, but He announced that it is likely that in future editions –Mercoláctea will be held every two years– the venue will be in the interior.
After thanking the endorsement of the breed societies of the Dutch, Norman and Jersey breedsmentioned that since the activity was scheduled to take place during the winter, the oath will take place in one of the historic sheds, specially conditioned, heated, with comforts for ranchers, jurors and the public.
Special emphasis will be placed, he remarked, on training activities, “a distinctive Mercoláctea”, with specific proposals for those who work in production and industry.
Today was the launch of @mercolacteauy . We are waiting for you from June 1 to 3 in the rural del meadow pic.twitter.com/oz7awNO2o4
– Juan Dellapiazza (@JuanDellapiazza) November 1, 2022
Reproduction and genetics
Sergio Kmaid, responsible for coordinating the seminar on reproduction and genetics, defined reproduction in the dairy as one of the foundation stones of the productive and economic success of a dairy company. He announced the identity of four researchers who will present: Gustavo Schuenemann, from the University of Ohio in the United States; Juan Peñagaricano, a Uruguayan who works at the University of Madison; Alejo Menchaca by the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) and the Uruguayan Animal Reproduction Institute Foundation; and the Argentine Guillermo Brogliatti.
“It is a very important effort to bring top-level people” for a seminar aimed at technicians, producers and students, he stressed.
Dellapiazza stressed that the distance to the beginning of June allows others to be added to the variety of activities already confirmed, “to make a very complete schedule of activities in three days.”
The participation of National Milk Institute (INALE)with a proposal focused on producers, will be another attraction, regardless of the Inale Forum that will be 15 years old in 2023 and will be held in parallel on those dates, outside the Rural.
john samuel
Aldo Ferrari, Juan Luis Dellapiazza, Alberto Iribarne, Fernando Mattos and Álvaro Delgado.
dairy olympics
Ferrari alluded to another attraction, the dairy Olympics. He recalled that in Argentina, with a jury, agrotechnical schools competed, targeting the future employment of young people, with a very human content that involved teachers and students. The winner got a cup that was left for one year at the school and then returned for the next competition. It was an instance highly valued by the parents of the participants. For the winners, work internships were generated in companies, there were computers for the school, all “with a very important social function.”
He recalled that he lives in Tandil, where he works in a field, and that he has appreciated that “many of those boys today are veterinarians and work with me.”
He added that “we can replicate that model in Uruguay”, for which there are meetings with the UTU, with Alejandra Pons, Ignacio Ameglio and Elena Torres, with the initial objective of designing how these Olympics will be held.
The focus on rural women, said Dellapiazza, will be another of the key contents, for which initial negotiations were activated with Fernanda Maldonado, general director of MGAP.
“We are really convinced of the importance of women, not only in rural areas, but in the dairy and in the family business, it is key and undoubtedly deserves a space of important good, of exchange, a space where they talk about the needs, the role it plays in the dairy sector, in agriculture and specifically in the dairy sector”, he commented.
Regarding the technical tours, he recalled a recent experience in Ecuador, where the congress of the Pan-American Dairy Federation (Fepale) was held, which has allowed him to compare and affirm that Uruguay is in the front line, with Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
“Uruguay has a lot to show, I met with several delegations in Ecuador, very interested in coming to see the productive systems that Uruguay has, the traditional pastoral, the new that many producers are implementing, the hot bed part, but also to see the industry and other things, for example the legal security that exists in Uruguay”, he said, also adding to the opportunity that there will be with the Mercolactea to show the local tourism potential.
On the environmental issue, another of the focuses, he mentioned: “It will be very present every day, Uruguay works very well with a whole development in what is the environmental footprint, with animal welfare, the producers work well, the The industry works well, but we have to prove it and we are going to work on it”, he stated.
Special facilities to take advantage of business rounds, spaces for companies in the trade show and a cheese room will be other attractions.
“Trust us, we are not going to disappoint you,” Dellapiazza emphasized at the end of the presentation of the details of Mercoláctea Uruguay 2023.
Social insertion
Minister Fernando Mattosamong other considerations, congratulated the organizers for the initiative and the contents of the Mercoláctea, “with multiple contributions aimed at improving competitiveness.”
“The dairy chain in Uruguay is very important, not only from the point of view of production, its social insertion in the territory is fundamental,” he said.
Decidedly, he pointed out, “it is an efficient and sustainable production, but we have steps to take, to improve and these events can generate and provide us with elements so that all integrated sectors seek paths in productive efficiency and mitigation of environmental impacts” .
Mattos highlighted the value of the experience of Mercoláctea in Argentina, on how to “generate events of high impact and scope so that there are discussions on how to improve our productive performance in the different sectors that have to do with this production that is so noble, so important and of so much economic and social impact in Uruguay”, defining the Mercoláctea as an event “of enormous prominence and importance to continue promoting dairy activity in the country”.
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At the close of the conference, the toast was with fresh milk.
Contact points
Alberto Iribarne, Ambassador of Argentina in Uruguaystressed that “the central objective of the embassy is to work for the integration of our peoples”, that between the governments of both countries “we have an excellent relationship, a fluid dialogue” and that the embassy works to stimulate relations “with all levels”.
In that sense, he added, the dairy industry is an “excellent point of contact.”
He said that a month ago, following an initiative by the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry, a group of ambassadors from Europe, Asia and Latin America toured the interior of the country, through Florida, Flores and Durazno, where “the power of the dairy industry was shown in Uruguay”, after visiting the Conaprole plant in Florida and the Estancias del Lago dairy.
“From the Argentine embassy we are willing to support and help with all the tools we have to meeting points, of contact, like this one from the dairy industry,” he concluded.
