The first cooperative feedlot in the country is inaugurated in Córdoba

On June 12, the country's first cooperative feedlot will open its doors, located in Humboldt, Santa Fe. This confined area intended for the intensive fattening of cattle in pens will bring together producers from Córdoba and Santa Fe.

The project seeks to improve the productive chain of dairy farms in Córdoba and Santa Fe, two key regions for Argentina's dairy industry. Driven by the Unión de Cooperativas Ganaderas, the venture represents a national-level innovation.

"The decision was made to create a feedlot that will be supplied with Holando calves (from the region's dairy farms). It's going to be the country's first cooperative feedlot," said Raúl Cagliero, director of Sodecar, a Cycle 2 meat processing plant, also affiliated with Uncoga, and president of the Santa Fe Meat Processing Plant Chamber (Cafrisa).

The feedlot aims to strengthen the fattening of Holando calves, a traditional breed in the dairy farms of the country's central dairy basin. The participating cooperatives will provide the animals, and the feeding will be managed by the second-level organization Uncoga. Currently, there are already 700 calves being fattened, with a total capacity for 1,000 animals and the possibility of expanding its infrastructure.

A regional productive strategy

The project aims to generate added value at the source and provide a profitable alternative for dairy producers. The meat obtained will initially be marketed through the Sodecar butcher shop network, owned by the cooperatives.

Entering export markets is also being considered at a later stage, depending on the initial productive results. The departments of eastern Córdoba and central Santa Fe concentrate one of the largest dairy productions in the country.

This cooperative feedlot seeks to leverage that scale to integrate primary production with meat processing. The initiative allows small and medium-sized producers to access the productive tools necessary for production.

Innovation with a cooperative stamp

Uncoga is made up of nine grassroots cooperatives, and its mission is to strengthen regional economies through associative projects. The inauguration of the feedlot marks a milestone for rural cooperativism by incorporating added value in a stage after production.

Córdoba plays a key role in the development of this proposal, being one of the provinces most represented in the project. In addition to the economic impact, the venture aims to improve efficiency in the beef supply chain from dairy farms.

The cooperative model allows risks and benefits to be distributed among members in an equitable and sustainable manner. In a region where dairy activity is essential, this tool can be an innovative solution to strengthen the sector.