UFAC Visits Catalonia to Explore Dairy Farming in Extreme Conditions

In mid-April, UFAC’s Mark Townsend and Tony Suckling travelled to Catalonia in Spain to gain first-hand insight into dairy production in one of Europe’s most challenging environments.

The visit focused on understanding how farms are maintaining performance under significant climatic pressure, with temperatures ranging from as low as -5°C in winter, often accompanied by heavy fog, through to peaks of +45°C during the summer months.

Across the region, the team visited dairy herds ranging from 450 to 3,800 cows. Despite the variation in scale, a consistent theme emerged. Performance is heavily dependent on how effectively nutrition is adapted to cope with these extremes.

Maintaining dry matter intake, protecting milk yield and supporting overall cow health are ongoing challenges in such conditions. These are not occasional pressures, but part of the day-to-day reality for producers in the region.

Reflecting on the visit, Mark Townsend commented: “The range of temperatures these farms cope with is a real challenge, and there is clear opportunity for UFAC’s Envirolac and Dynalac range to help maintain yields and support cow health during these periods.”

Alongside performance, there is also a clear and growing focus on sustainability. Farms, cooperatives and commercial businesses across Catalonia are actively engaged in programmes aimed at reducing carbon footprint and improving environmental efficiency.

Tony Suckling noted: “There is significant commitment to carbon footprint reduction programmes in Spain, promoted by both cooperatives and commercial businesses.”

In addition to dairy, the region is home to one of the largest concentrations of pig and poultry production in Europe. This highlights further opportunities for the application of precision fatty acid nutrition across multiple sectors.

The visit represents a valuable step in strengthening UFAC’s understanding of European production systems and how nutrition strategies must adapt to increasingly variable and extreme conditions.

By engaging directly with farms operating under these environments, UFAC continues to build practical insight to help support consistent performance, efficient nutrient use and cow health across a range of systems.