Sixteen farmers joined Pembrokeshire Farm Vets veterinary surgeons Ruben Vines and Alice Davies on the exchange visit to Valencia, where they spent time on two dairy farms and visited a specialist cattle breeding enterprise. The trip was organised by Ruben, who is originally from Valencia, after one of his farming clients jokingly suggested that he should take them to Spain to see how farms there operate.
The group visited More Holstein in Bétera and La Serretilla Ganadera S.A.T. in Chiva, as well as Ganadería Pedro Peris in Bétera, which breeds cattle used in the traditional Valencian bous al carrer events. A major focus of the exchange was heat stress management, with the group looking at how Spanish dairy farms are adapting to periods of extreme temperatures and considering which approaches could translate to farms in the UK.
Farmers saw both relatively simple management changes and more advanced cooling measures, including specialist roofing, fans and sprinkler systems. Other measures included changing feeding and handling times, reducing the distances cattle walk during hot weather and improving cooling around collecting yards and parlours. Both dairy farms visited were making changes to their facilities to improve heat management and reported increases in milk production following the introduction of heat mitigation technologies.
The group also explored biosecurity, replacement rearing, vaccination programmes, fertility management and herd health planning. This included seeing the use of thoracic ultrasound to monitor calves for pneumonia, as well as monitoring technology to inform health, fertility and wider management decisions.
Ruben Vines BVSc CertAVP MRCVS, Veterinary Surgeon at Pembrokeshire Farm Vets, said: “Heat stress is becoming an increasingly important issue for UK farms, so one of our main aims was to see what we could learn from farmers who have more experience of managing livestock in high temperatures.
“One of the most useful lessons was that making a difference doesn’t necessarily require major investment. We saw practical changes around water and feed provisions, feeding and handling times and reducing how far cattle have to walk in hot weather, alongside more advanced measures such as specialist roofing, fans and sprinkler systems.
“The trip also gave us the opportunity to spend time with the veterinary teams working with the farms and exchange ideas around herd health, replacement rearing, biosecurity and the use of technology.
“Several of the farmers who joined us are already considering changes on their own farms, particularly around heat stress management, calf rearing, visitor biosecurity and technologies that can support animal health, welfare and performance.
“Just as importantly, spending time together away from the day-to-day pressures of the farm gives vets and farmers the chance to have open conversations and share ideas. Building that trust and understanding helps us to work more effectively together when we return home.”
Biosecurity was another area of particular interest. The Spanish farms operated stringent measures, including closed-herd policies and tight controls around farm visitors. During the visit, the Pembrokeshire group also discussed new HIPRA vaccines with particular focus on the new Divence range (Divence penta and Divence tri), MSD SenseHub monitoring technology and approaches to biosecurity that can help reduce antimicrobial use, in line with the work of Arwain DGC.
The exchange was supported by sponsorship from HIPRA, MSD Animal Health and Arwain DGC.
Following the success of the visit, Pembrokeshire Farm Vets is now planning a second exchange trip for next year, with a greater focus on sheep and beef enterprises, enabling more of its farming clients to take part and share ideas with their counterparts overseas.
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