Jordi Cabau, from SAT 1073 Castell, Pau Salse, from Agromont, and Eliseu Isla, from Cooperativa d’Ivars, were announced today as the winners of the 9th PronosVac Awards, prizes organized by Mercolleida that recognize the best beef market analysts of 2025. The ceremony took place at the La Llotja Conference Center in Lleida and brought together around fifty people, including beef industry operators, institutional representatives, and Mercolleida collaborators from across Spain.
The PronosVac Awards recognize the best analysts on the MonVac trading table—the National Beef Cattle Market at Origin. Every Wednesday, the operators on this table meet at the Mercolleida facilities, either in person or via videoconference, for the MonVac Price Board meeting. The objective of this meeting is to establish prices for the different categories of Spanish beef cattle based on current market conditions. Just before the meeting, the members of this board make a prediction about the outcome of the session, and the PronosVac Awards are determined based on these predictions. Those with the most accurate predictions throughout 2025 are the winners in this edition.
The winners in the different categories are:
PronosVac Crossbred Male Award: Jordi Cabau, from SAT 1073 Castell.
PronosVac Crossbred Female Award: Pau Salse, from Agromont.
PronosVac Friesian Award: Eliseu Isla, from Cooperativa d’Ivars.
As is customary, the awards ceremony is hosted each year by a different member of the MonVac board, and this year it was Mercolleida’s turn, which hosted the latest edition of the PronosVac Awards in the city of Lleida.
MonVac
MonVac’s price quotations help establish long-term business relationships between producers and buyers. In particular, the Lleida-Huesca region has one of the largest fattening cattle herds in Spain and is notable for its high number of cattle destined for intensive beef production. This reality, along with the active participation of key operators from the Spanish Levante region and cooperatives from Castile and León—the autonomous community with the largest cattle population in the country—contributes to the MonVac prices being considered a key benchmark in the national market. In this regard, it is worth noting that Mercolleida is listed in the register of State Reference Markets of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (08/2023).
The Awards
This year’s awards were created by Monti Mateu Costa, an artist from Lleida, renowned ceramist and sculptor with over forty years of professional experience in the world of ceramics and artistic expression. Mateu Costa was commissioned to design exclusive pieces for the PronosVac Awards, conceived as unique works handcrafted specifically for this competition.
The Award Winners
JORDI CABAU – SAT 1073 CASTELL
Jordi Cabau is a cattle farmer with years of experience in the beef cattle sector, now through SAT 1073 Castell. At the helm of a family-run farm, he is recognized for his professionalism, his knowledge of the sector, and his commitment to a production model based on quality and animal welfare.
ELISEU ISLA – COOPERATIVA D’IVARS
Eliseu Isla is a veterinarian with extensive professional experience in the cattle sector and agri-food cooperatives. He has been with Cooperativa d’Ivars for over three decades, where he currently directs the ruminant and poultry department. From 2019 to 2023, he served as president of Provacuno. In this role, he spearheaded the opening of international markets, the promotion of Spanish beef, and the improvement of the sector’s competitiveness.
PAU SALSE – AGROMONT
Pau Salse is a cattle farmer and founding partner of Agromont SL, a family business specializing in cattle fattening and high-quality beef production. He has spearheaded a model based on innovation, animal welfare, and sustainability. Furthermore, Agromont has collaborated for over 20 years with IRTA on research and innovation projects related to beef production, solidifying the company’s position as a leading farm in technology transfer and livestock modernization.
