Spain: Grupo Pastores is a leader in innovation in the field of sheep

Over 15 Projects developed by the hand of public research and innovation generated by partners and collaborators, emphasizing its 160 employees, it has placed Grupo Pastores leads the Spanish sheep meat sector, with a reference to worldwide.

It began with the marketing of lamb, advancing in regulation and market transparency, eliminating unnecessary tasks of the value chain, reducing profit margins and benefiting the producer and the consumer.

Moreover, compliance and updating the cooperative principles developed an important role in social and environmental responsibility in 440 small towns and hundreds of thousands of hectares of grazed not suffer degradation by default.

The main steps in Researching by Grupo Pastores can be grouped into 15 projects, pursuing the following objectives:

– Training for profitability. Key to improving the “quality of life profitability and partners” engine. Technifying and humanizing the livestock in good farming practices, veterinary, fertility treatments and seasonality of production, accounting, information technology, new business technologies and cooperative in order to improve its profitability and quality of life principles. To meet the needs of an objective, Pastores works closely with the University of Zaragoza, making measurements of farms to identify best practices and to transfer them to other farmers.

– Analysis of technical and economic management, health improvements and the plan evolves. The R & D has been conducted via agreements with public research centers, after detecting the problem and the joint search for solutions. The cooperative group has made significant progress in the virtual elimination of diseases that generated huge losses, abortions and mortality as brucellosis, which in turn was the largest occupational disease for farmers, veterinarians and even rural inhabitants (Malta fever) ; Hydatidosis transmitted through dogs, scabies or other contamination or health problems. Or elimination of antibiotics in feed for fattening, improving grazing conditions, density farms, disinfection and sanitation and, finally, the use of feed with probiotics.

– Implementation of a system of classification of the Lambs, manga, in less time and with maximum detail. The manga was sold transferring the sheep sector this development. The cooperative has developed common bait in the last four weeks prior to the sale, getting a consistency of meat improves the final value and impact on the socio settlement.

– The Comerum, enclosures, replacement services, GPS, quality of life of the farmer. Improvements in nutrition through food mixed with the creation of a new feeder, Comerum, that the sheep do not reject part of the mix, namely the fiber they do not like. This innovation allows the farmer to autodispensar rations, being able to have holidays.

– The genetic improvement achieved after the discovery of Gen Roa own natural gene variant Rasa Aragonesa, allowing the farmer to double profits by increasing prolificacy.

– New references in the processes of transformation of the product, in order to commercialize more adapted to the needs of the client formats for snacks, prepared, ready, monoración formats, ranges, frozen and vacuum, etc.

– Applying innovative techniques in business management. Participation based on process management “I own my job.”

– Innovating in communication, participation, information and transparency and corporate governance. Internal communication in the organization is key to the Pastors Group.

– As need for cooperative integration, Pastors Group is part of the company with the largest cooperatives OviSpain sheep meat Spain.

Source: Grupo Pastores