Invitation to participate in the “International Goat Cheese Awards”

Invitation
The National Association of Certified Goat Breeders, with the support of the Mexican Cheese Institute, and Slow Food International, invite all producers of goat cheese to participate in the first edition of the International Goat Cheese Awards. The awards will be part of the activities of the XI National Goat, Cheese and Cajeta Expo in Celaya, Guanajuato on 1st to 4th May, 2014. The activities will be held at Ecoforum in the city of Celaya. 

Objective
To promote and recognize the diversity and quality of the multitude of goat cheeses around the world, as well as to contribute to the improvement of best practices in goat cheese making. The awards will host international experts, who will make technical recommendations for producers. We aim to provide a place of the exchange between experts in the industry, cheesemakers, and consumers. We hope to promote goat cheeses and their makers with possible consumers. 

Written by Héctor Mario Andrade Montemayor, IGA Regional Director for México, Central America and Caribbean

In May 2013, several activities were carried out related to various aspects of goat production in Mexico.

The first event carried out from May 16-19 was sweet goat milk sweet (Cajeta) and goat cheese fair held in Celaya, Guanajuato. The fair was attended by Juan Capote (President of IGA), Irma Celi (IGA country representative for Peru), Hector Andrade Montemayor (IGA Regional Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean), Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo (Technical Director, Selection Program for Murciano-Granadian Goats in Spain), Javier Hernandez Pleguezuelos (Executive Secretary of the Association of Murciano-Granadino Goats [CAPRIGRAN] in Spain), Juan Manuel Micheo Puig (Executive Secretary of the Spanish Association of Malageña Goat Breeders in Spain), Sergio Alvarez (Researcher from the Canary Islands Institute of Agricultural Research), Felipe Torres Acosta (IGA Board Member and researcher from the Autonomous University of Yucatan in Merida, Yucatan,  Mexico) and José Alberto Delgadillo (Researcher in goat reproduction from the Autonomous Agrarian University Antonio Narro in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico).

Activities
International goat symposium
There were twelve technical presentations in the areas of reproduction, gastrointestinal parasite control, genetic selection, nutrition, goat development in Peru, and one lecture about IGA and IGA programs in international development. After the inauguration, the fair began with the national meeting on breeds and goat products with representatives from national producers associations and technicians, national and state government representatives, and national and Latin-American producers (Guatemala and Cuba). The main purpose of this meeting was to discuss the national problems of goat producers, goat development projects and programs such as disease control, genetic selection, nutrition and reproduction, as well as government programs to support in-country development of the goat industry.