In 2021 the organizers of the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference tried something new: a Spanish Language version of their annual educational conference discussing what is happening in swine production and management! The event was a big success, with great attendance and an engaged audience.
The Leman en Español conference was a day and a half long virtual conference attended by 353 Spanish-speaking swine professionals. Attendees joined the conference from around the world, including Mexico, United States, Colombia, Spain, Chile, Peru, France, Ecuador, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, and many more.
The planning committee received nothing but praise for the quality of the program presented to the attendees. Dr. John Deen from the University of Minnesota opened the conference with his keynote presentation on the risks associated with the business of raising hogs. On the second day, Drs. Peter Fernandez and Manuel Borca provided an update on African Swine Fever: how we can prepare for it and what we can expect from vaccines. Breakout sessions targeted current problematics of the swine industry both on the production and health sides. The variety of topics, from human resources to respiratory disease control, from biosecurity to swine nutrition ensured that every attendee left the conference with practical and science-based information to tackle their issues.
In previous years certain sessions of the English program were presented in Spanish, but having a separate conference just for information in Spanish allowed attendees to enjoy other aspects of the conference that are normally only in English, including a presentation of twenty five posters and the opportunity to check out a virtual exhibit hall of sponsors with Spanish-speaking representatives to answer any questions. Attendees could also continue the dialogue around a number of topics with each other in “Hallway Conversations” before and after the sessions!
If you are interested in getting information about future Leman en Español opportunities, you can sign up for promotional emails.