Friends and associates reflect on the career of Dr. David Porter Price, who passed away on May 10, 2010, in his home-town of Las Cruces, N.M. Dr. Price was 64. A ruminant nutritionist, Price spent more than 20 years as a consultant for the U.S. Grains Council in Latin America, the Middle East and elsewhere. While he is best known for his work in Mexico, revamping the cattle feedlot industry and training feeders to use U.S. feed ingredients, Price’s own relationship to the Council was one he cherished.
“What the Council has done for me has been substantial. The Council has been a small part of my practice but a huge part of my life. The Council has sent me all over the world, but more importantly, through the Council, I have been able to see firsthand the enormous benefits of free trade. That, in itself, has been life altering,� Price wrote in 2009 report.
Bill Mark, former USGC director of international operations in Latin America, was saddened to hear of Price’s loss. “I can’t speak enough about how good a person he was, and how good he was at what he did,� said Mark.
Mark, who was also the USGC director in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, also tapped into Price’s services for work in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Turkey and Egypt, but said, “His emphasis was in Mexico more than anyplace else.� Price’s fluency in Spanish was helpful during their weeks on the road together, building a strong professional network throughout Mexico.
“His forte was formulating rations and solving nutritional and health problems in feedlots,� Mark said. “He had good practical experience, and I learned a lot just by being along with him.�
Some of the work they did together included collaborating with a Monterrey-area brewery to produce a wet brewer’s grain that had less water and more grain content, and establishment of a model feedlot in the state of Tamaulipas; it was in a grain growing region, designed to utilize locally produced grain so it would not be shipped elsewhere in Mexico. Price said Mark, “knew the constraints of what we were up against, and he was successful at what he did.�
Price also shared a distinctly close bond with USGC Director in Mexico Dr. Julio Hernandez even as he moved on to work in other parts of the world. “Dr. Hernandez is one of the most intelligent, thoughtful and sincere human beings I have ever met. His demeanor was always the same; punctual, clear-headed, focused and quietly but continuously brainstorming to make the project successful,� said Price in a 2009 report.
Recalling their 20 year relationship, Hernandez noted Price was, “a very fine person. He was amicable and quickly developed friendships. Everybody liked him. Price was very conscious of people, how they work, how they do business and was always willing to help,� said Hernandez.
These character traits were evident through his commitment to both clients and the U.S. feed grains industry. “At the very beginning, we started to assist the feedlot industry in northern Mexico,� Hernandez said. “We went to that area for 10 or 12 years in a row, assisting all these people to improve their feeding practices and make better use of grain.� And his lessons stuck. “A lot of the industry in Torreon still exists because of his advice.�