Carlos Palacios Riocerezo

By María C. Barrón Rivas, Carlos Palacios Riocerezo, Ignacio A. Dominguez Vara, Manuel Gonzalez Ronquillo and Sergio Radic Schilling

The constant increase in the demand for dairy products and their derivatives has generated a higher consumption of dairy products (113.5 t/year). Chile has not been the exception; in 2017, it presented an average per capita consumption of 11.1 kg of cheese, making it the largest consumer in Latin America, followed by Argentina (7.5 kg) and Uruguay (5 kg). Although Chile does not have a strong tradition of consuming sheep’s milk cheese compared with other (European) countries, in recent years, there have been changes in the demands and expectations of cheese consumers, who demand higher quality and a wider range of varieties, thus establishing the potential for further products to enter the market. The global cheese industry has taken charge of these trends through the phenomenon of granting a premium value to certain products, adding new ingredients and flavors, producing limited editions of certain products, favoring traditional recipes and craft methods, and highlighting specific localities of origin. Given a greater appreciation for and popularity of locally produced cheeses and value-added products, particularly those with the highly valued “Designation of Origin” label, this would offer a potential for expansion in the Chilean market.

Part of the book: Milk Production, Processing and Marketing

By Cristina Hidalgo-González, M. Pilar Rodríguez-Fernández, Javier Plaza-Martín and Carlos Palacios-Riocerezo

A livestock system is a productive unit, but in addition, if it pursues an optimal use of natural resources, it can increase overall sustainability. In order to evaluate the fulfillment of this objective, it is necessary to carry out a diagnosis of the system to describe and evaluate its degree of sustainability. One methodological option for this diagnosis is the construction of sustainability indicators. The MESMIS method is a methodological tool that analyses the interrelations between the results of the environmental, social and economic dimensions through a battery of indicators. The aim of this work is to assess the sustainability, using the MESMIS methodology, of different management systems of a sample of dairy sheep farms in Castilla y León (Spain). In general, the semi-extensive group obtained the highest overall score (8.40), and the intensive group achieved the highest volume of productivity. In conclusion, semi-extensive systems were more sustainable than intensive or semi-intensive systems in all attributes, especially those related to stability, adaptability and equity.

Part of the book: Sheep Farming

By Lizbeth E. Robles-Jimenez, Paola Alejandra Fernández Estrada, Jorge Osorio Avalos, Raul Perezgrovas, Oscar Chavez-Rivera, Einar Vargas-Bello-Pérez, Carlos Palacios Riocerezo and Manuel Gonzalez-Ronquillo

The purpose of this chapter is to provide information on wool production from Mexico in a period from 1980 to 2019, addressing some of the problems faced by the wool market over time. An analysis of variables such as national production of wool, cost of kg of wool, import and export of wool was performed with the aim of having a complete picture of the situation in Mexico. Also, the production of Mexico was compared with that of other countries that occupy the first places in wool production and quality, to have a starting point and propose improvement scenarios for the production of Mexican wool production. Overall, wool production in Mexico cannot cover the national demand, having to resort to the import of this product. The use of native resources of the region, such as the “Chiapas sheep breed” allows the development and maintenance of traditional ancestral culture, such as the Tzotzil, and the manufacture of handicrafts typical of each of the regions of Mexico. However, the management of long-term programs through the inclusion of dual-purpose breeds, wool, and meat can be a viable alternative for the development of the wool industry in Mexico.

Part of the book: Sheep Farming