Radio Sintonia:
The Stallion Center of the Majorera Goat Breed will open its doors this Friday,
April 21.
This Friday,
April 21, starting at 17:30 p.m., the opening ceremony of the Majorera Goat Breed Stallion Center will take place, a new milestone in the breeding program of this emblematic animal of Canarian livestock, and producer of milk and majorero cheese, awarded worldwide.
During the last decade, the FECAMA (National Federation of Breeders of the Majorera Goat Breed) and the three associations that make it up, based in Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Tenerife, have promoted the recovery and genetic improvement of the breed, currently having about 13,000 copies registered in the studbook, and have worked on the productive improvement of goat milk, thanks to a joint work with livestock farms and institutions that support the program.
All this work will take a qualitative leap thanks to the commissioning of this new space, which opens its doors in the Cascajos de Almácigo (Puerto del Rosario). Because from now on, "thanks to the founding group of selected purebred males, and with the health guarantee that this center gives us, we will be able to connect the cabins of the Canary Islands with each other more easily, taking a great leap in the breeding program of the majorera goat breed," said Iriome Perdomo, president of FECAMA.
The center is designed to accommodate up to 70 stallions, and begins operating with modern facilities that already house six male candidates, currently in sanitary isolation. It is a space that "has the necessary technology for the extraction, laboratory analysis, freezing and distribution of semen from these specimens," adds Perdomo.
Superior genetics and health control
The specimens hosted at the Male Center have been previously selected after assessing their ancestry and their dairy biotype. "We are looking for genetically superior males," says Gabriel Fernández de Sierra, technical director of the breeding program. "The associations have constituted their selection nuclei, making production records for ten years, and selecting the most productive specimens. We already have milk control, with objective data, in addition to the genealogical control of the new generations through DNA filiation tests.
For hundreds of years, farmers have selected for their crosses the specimens they considered best. That is what breeding consists of, and in the Canary Islands, it has given rise to an enormously productive breed, resistant and adapted to arid climates. This process takes a leap with the creation of the studbook, guaranteeing the purity of the registered animals. And the last step, before which we find ourselves, is the reproduction of purebred specimens by artificial insemination. Thanks to this, "in a short period of time, we will be able to have many more goats and males in follow-up. It is a phenomenal advance in the genetic improvement program, "says Fernández.
But it is not possible to develop this process without health guarantees, because it is necessary "to prevent the presence of diseases that can be transmitted by semen, and thus prevent other farms from being contaminated," says Christian de la Fe, professor of animal health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Murcia, who has been in charge of the health evaluation of the candidate males.
"It would be unfeasible to analyze each seminal dose. But we can prevent any infection from leaving the center, guaranteeing the sanitary control of the selected stallions both in the entry process and during their stay in the center. That is why quarantine and isolation are necessary, because we try to prevent the entry of animals with infectious, viral or bacterial diseases, which can be transmitted between farms, "says the veterinarian.
The group of six male breederscandidates welcomed at the center are the beginning of a future project. Once it is at full capacity, the genetics of the majorera goat breed could be exported not only to the Canary Islands, but to other parts of the national territory, and even to other countries. The majorera goat is an animal recognized and appreciated for its resistance and productivity, and there are many countries that, if health regulations admit it, would be interested in getting hold of its genetics from the commercialization of germplasm, something that in turn represents a commercial opportunity for livestock herds in the Canary Islands.
Invitation and acknowledgments
FECAMA, together with the three associations that make it up, the Association of Goat Breeders of Fuerteventura, the Insular Association of Breeders of the Majorera Goat in Gran Canaria, and the Insular Association of Breeders of the Majorera Goat in Tenerife, invite interested people to participate in the opening ceremony of the Machos Center.
At the same time, they convey their gratitude to all the people, institutions and companies involved, such as the twenty farms that participate in the genetic improvement program of the breed, the Cabildo de Fuerteventura and the Government of the Canary Islands, the town halls, or entities such as health defense associations, the Canarian and Murcia universities, GDR Maxorata or GMR Canarias, as well as companies such as Piensos del Atlántico, Sociedad Cooperativa COEXFUR, Graneros de Fuerteventura or CAPRIFUER.