6 Nov 2026
Led by Pembrokeshire Farm Vets, a group of cattle farmers learned how to tackle heat stress and improve herd health from their Spanish counterparts.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Farmers joined Pembrokeshire Farm Vets surgeons Ruben Vines and Alice Davies to visit dairy farms in Valencia.
A pair of farm vets have led a group of UK dairy and beef farmers on an educational trip to Spain.
A group of 16 farmers joined Pembrokeshire Farm Vets surgeons Ruben Vines and Alice Davies on a trip to Valencia, where they learned how livestock producers are managing heat stress, strengthening biosecurity and using technology to improve herd health and performance.
The group visited dairy farms More Holstein in Bétera and La Serretilla Ganadera S.A.T. in Chiva, as well as specialist cattle breeding enterprise in Bétera, Ganadería Pedro Peris.
They learned how the sites are adapting to extreme temperatures, from changing feeding and handling times and reducing walking distances to specialist roofing, fan and sprinkler systems.
Biosecurity measures around closed-herd policies and farm visitor controls were also explored along with vaccination programmes, fertility management and herd health planning, including the use of monitoring technology such as thoracic ultrasound to monitor calves for pneumonia.
Mr Vines, who is originally from Valencia, is said to have organised the trip after a client jokingly suggested he should take them to Spain to see how farms there operate.
He 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.”
The vet added: “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…
“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.”