We are in the middle of the montanera campaign and this year, again, with many problems due to the production of acorns. Some of the farmers as well as the Agro-Food Cooperatives organization alert about the risk of disappearance of the montanera.
The drought has affected the production of acorns. Therefore, a mediocre montanera is expected, according to the president of the Agrifood Cooperatives Agustín González Sánchez who points out that "the animals will need more grass, the behavior of which has improved after the recent rainfall. A relief for the producers of the Iberian, who have been enduring in the last two years the excessive increase in the costs of the feed necessary for feeding during the rearing of piglets and yearlings, before their entry into the montanera».
This system of circular economy and sustainable production is more vulnerable every year and there is a risk of disappearance of the montanera. All this due to the problems of drought and the health of the ecosystem mainly due to climatic reasons.
Disappearance or reduction of the montanera affects production.
In this way, the number of sows that entered the montanera last year 2021-2022 is 704.000. It is expected that this year it will be 10% lower and next year it will be reduced by 25%. Therefore, although the product is paid more to the farmer, the increase in costs that this entails does not compensate for the rise in production prices and makes clear the risk of disappearance of the montanera.
On the other hand, this lack of profitability in the Iberian sector puts the continuity of these family farms at risk. All this together with the excess of bureaucracy and the different regulations make it difficult for small and medium-sized farms to continue. It is here where the large pork industry appears, landing with an integration system and endangering traditional production and livestock.
With this disappearance for economic reasons and the increasingly complicated montanera that is being reduced, in addition to high-quality products, a form of sustainable production is lost.
