The Ovipor cooperative held a livestock event at the Casa de la Cultura in Calañas with over a hundred professionals from sheep, Iberian pig, and cattle farming. The meeting addressed markets, health, and the role of grazing in fire prevention.
More than a hundred sheep, Iberian pig, and cattle farmers from the province of Huelva gathered this Wednesday at the Casa de la Cultura de Calañas for a day organised by the Ovipor cooperative focused on the challenges of extensive farming. The practical programme was structured into blocks covering markets, production planning, animal health, and management, as reported by huelvared.com.
The session began with an analysis of the situation and prospects of the Spanish sheep market led by the president of EA GROUP, Antonio Holguín, and its general director, Juan Carlos Pozo. In this first block, emphasis was placed on the planning of lambing, allowing farms to adapt their production cycles to market developments through the scheduling of breeding and birthing periods.
Ovipor is commercially integrated into this second-degree cooperative, which groups together eight cooperatives from southwestern Spain and more than 1,600 member farmers.
The second major block focused on the preparation for the 2026-2027 montanera, given the imminent start of the campaign. The livestock section director of Ovipor, Gema Martín, and the Animal Feed director, Silvia Bermejo, reviewed the aspects prior to the animals entering the dehesa: preparation and feeding of the primals, organisation of entry, animal welfare, and necessary documentation.
Prior planning is crucial in a production system linked to the natural resources of the dehesa and subject to specific requirements regarding the weight and age of the animals, replenishment during the montanera, livestock load, and identification of plots suitable for acorn utilisation.
The cattle sector had its own space. The general director of Ovipor, Miguel Castaño, and the cattle section director, Javier Faraco, analysed market developments and health and reproductive programmes that can improve farm results, factors that condition their viability in large areas of the province.
The day concluded with a speech by the president of Ovipor, Agustín González, on extensive livestock farming as a tool for preventing forest fires, a matter that has gained relevance following the fires recorded this year in the province of Huelva.
Grazing helps to continuously reduce herbaceous and shrubby vegetation that can act as fuel and promotes the creation of discontinuities in the plant mass
González explained that this activity allows for action in difficult-to-access areas for mechanical means, while maintaining an economic activity linked to the territory.
The event was supported by BBVA and Caja Rural del Sur.
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