INTERVIEW ▶▶▶ Mario Faccin, CEO of Master Agroindustrial
In charge of over half a million pigs
Over half a million pigs – that is the size of the herd of Master Agroindustrial, a large swine-producing company in Santa Catarina state, Brazil. Mario Faccin has spent the last 27 years building the company – and he isn’t finished yet.
BY CHRIS MCCULLOUGH, CORRESPONDENT A
lthough Brazil may have dodged a bullet in having no cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) in pigs, the country is plagued by new highly infectious variants of Covid-19 in people. Master Agroindustrial employs 1,200 people on its farms and slaughter facilities and has big plans to expand the facilities and add 600 more staff this year. Labour availability is just one of the challenges faced by compa- ny boss Mario Faccin, but he is moving fast to increase produc- tion. Mario has been in the pig production industry for the past 46 years and has spent the last 27 of those building Master Agroindustrial, which produces, slaughters and processes all its own pigs.
Pig Progress: What is your background in the pig industry? Mario Faccin: “I’m now 67 and have worked my way up the ladder, first starting off as a farm assistant, then gradually moving into management. Master Agroindustrial is located in the south of Brazil in the state of Santa Catarina, a traditional pig-producing, processing and exporting region.”
What type of farms do you run and how many pigs do you produce? “Our system is organised into a number of different sections. There are nine farms called Sites 1 that hold 35,000 breeding stock. These units are owned by the company and produce weaned piglets. Also included in the system are 32 more farms called Sites 2, that we transfer the weaned piglets to and contract rear them up to 23kg. From here they are then transferred to an- other group of farmers called Sites 3, where they are finished. In
20 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 3, 2021
total, we have over 270 farmers who finish these animals until they reach slaughter weight at 125kg. Sites 2 and 3 are small rural producers that make up the majority system of the company, which comprises, as a whole, a herd of over 500,000 pigs at different ages.”
At what age and weight do you slaughter and where do you market the meat? “We have a total annual production of around one million pigs and usually we slaughter them at the age of 165 days with a slaughter weight in the range 125–128kg. Of the production of approximately one million pigs we sell around half to other agri-markets. The rest we slaughter, process and market with our own brand, Sulita, which serves the domestic market and partly exports to several countries.”
Which breeds do you use and why? What is your average litter size? “We have a partnership with two genetic companies, PIC and DanBred, because we believe they will bring greater economic results. The average of total births/farrowing in 2020 was 15.70 piglets per sow.”
What exactly do you feed the pigs and what quantity per head per day? “There are a number of different pig feed diets that are based on corn and soybean meal, complemented by other ingredients that are technically necessary for a perfect balance of needs. They are fed in various quantities and quality according to the different ages at each stage of production. On average each animal in the herd consumes something close to 1.52kg per day.”
PHOTO: MASTER AGROINDUSTRIAL
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
