Emily Otto-Tice, Director of Grain Marketing, Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn

Tour of FLAGASA Multispecies Feed Manufacturing Grains group with Alejandro Castano Guerra, Director General

FLAGASA purchased the current facility 16 years ago to meet feed capacity for their own expanding pork and poultry production sites. The growth allowed the company to add a commercial business segment and fully utilize mill capacity. Eighty percent of their production is for owned livestock/poultry and 20 percent is for commercial. They manufacture complete balanced diets for dairy swine poultry and other animals, including some business in aquaculture.

All grain is imported from the U.S. and received by both train cars and ocean vessels, depending on transport cost. Soybean meal is purchased from domestic soya crushers but all soybeans come from the U.S., so essentially all corn and soybean meal is of U.S. origin.

FLAGASA's current feed production capacity is 100 metric tons. Feed manufacturing is 30 tons per hour, but they have added equipment and soon will start producing 45 tons per hour. All commercially sold feed is bagged (88 lb) and hand stacked on pallets. Bagging is modern and automated.

The company has capacity to store 100 tons of grain, including soybean meal, which is a two week supply. They maintain a 4-7 day inventory of all other ingredients.

The original facility was built in the 1950s. They maintain 12 silos for grain storage and bulk overhead storage for finished feed product. All bulk finished feed is delivered to swine and poultry farms owned by FLAGASA.

FLAGASA's current swine production is farrow to finish operations with 5,000 sows. They are expanding and want to add another 1,500 sows. They are considered a medium-sized pork producer, and all pork they produce is for domestic markets.

The company also has a very small poultry operation, only 2 million broilers. Again, all production is for domestic markets.

Mike Platt, Trade Mission Delegate

Indiana Pork Producers Association

We started the day at DIPCEN, a pork processing plant located in the heart of Mexico City. This plant only processed ham sections, which they import chilled from Canada and the U.S.  We were happy to hear that they do buy some of their product from Logansport, Indiana.

One of the biggest obstacles here is the lack of approved slaughter houses. Classical swine fever is still present in the federal district, which limits opportunities to move locally raised pork.

Culturally, one of the challenges we heard about consistently, whether at the processing plant or at the consumer level, was that pork is still viewed as 1) a special occasion meal, and 2) is often perceived as not 100 percent safe. The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is doing a very admirable job of promotions to counter these two cultural perceptions. USMEF is very visible in the three grocery stores we toured, including Costco. All three groceries indicated that U.S. pork is perceived as safer and higher quality, and consumers are willing to pay a premium for U.S. pork. Additionally, pre-prepared, ready-to-eat meals are gaining popularity here, just as they are back home!

5:30 p.m. – Lt. Governor Skillman

Meeting Mexican Undersecretary of Agriculture

Late in the afternoon, I met with Francisco Lopez Tostado, Mexico’s Undersecretary of Agriculture.  He shed light on the challenges Mexico’s agricultural industry face, and their quest to elevate the industry with an aggressive 6-year plan.   The country is tackling such critical issues as increasing incomes in rural homes, expanding agricultural exports, protecting land against soil erosion, and increasing access to nutrient-rich foods.

NAFTA has brought great opportunities for advancement to Mexico, and their Department of Agriculture is ready to take action. Indiana benefits when Mexico moves forward.  I hope for all of us that the country is successful with their new agricultural initiatives. 

2:00 p.m. – Lt. Governor Skillman

La Salle University

This afternoon, we were greeted at Mexico City’s La Salle University by Rector Dr. Ambrosio Lunas Salas and the director of their college of Architecture, Jorge Iturbe.  Dr. Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco, Ball State University’s Dean of Architecture and Planning, joined us as we celebrated the collaboration of the two institutions.

I was honored to take part in an official signing of agreement between Ball State and La Salle.  The Memorandum of Understanding will jumpstart a relationship as partners of progress.  This agreement will provide a world of opportunities for Indiana and Mexico. I appreciated La Salle University for their kind hospitality, and I look forward to encouraging students around the state to consider studying abroad and seeing for themselves all that Mexico has to offer.

1:00 p.m.  – Lt. Governor Skillman

Biotechnology Roundtable

This morning’s Biotechnology Roundtable sparked some great discussion. The main focus of the biotechnology debate in Mexico has been on biodiversity and corn. Many environmental and indigenous groups have been opposed to biotech crops, fearing that they may contaminate native corn varieties. These groups have used threats to Mexico’s biodiversity and integrity of native varieties as arguments against the introduction of biotech crops.

On a positive note, Mexican consumers are not opposed to food produced from biotech crops. Mexico continues to import significant amounts of biotech-derived agricultural goods from the United States. In 2006 these imports included 7.5 million tons of corn, 3.2 million tons of cracked corn and 3.8 million tons of soybeans.

Don Villwock, President Indiana Farm Bureau, and Ted McKinney, Leader, U.S. Food Chain and State Affairs at Dow AgroSciences, spoke about the history of biotechnology in Indiana and the benefits. Indiana farmers enjoy the benefits of biotechnology, including protecting crops from disease, weed control, increasing crop quality and yield, improving safety and simplifying work. 

10:20 a.m. – Lt. Governor Skillman

Meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Antonio O. Garza, Jr.

We just finished meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Antonio Garza, Jr. at the U.S. Embassy. Mr. Garza grew up in Texas, and his brother-in-law still farms there.

Mexico has a natural affinity for agriculture, much like Indiana. Mr. Garza talked with us about the need for Mexican communities to take a step back and understand that trade with the United States is beneficial for all. We hope that our time here will be well spent in developing the understanding that our products can be complementary, rather than competitive.

Our conversation turned to immigration and the importance of strong international relationships. Mr. Garza told us that he believes the federal government should institute immigration reform, rather than states working on their own legislation.