Animal health is and must be priority on all livestock farms. More and more information is continuously becoming available on various diseases and treatments but the basics of proper treatment and vaccinations must be standard practice on all livestock farms.

Dairy farmers have a great measure in animal health with milk produced daily but livestock farmers don’t have the same measure on a daily basis and really must have better livestock herd health skills.

Recording animal health details is crucial so that you know where you are and what needs to be improved. As ever, both underdosing and overdosing with wormers needs to be avoided so something like a weighing scales should be standard on all farms.

It’s easy enough to self-test your ability to estimate cattle weights at the mart or factory. Whatever the product – drenches, injectables and especially pour-on types – it is important to follow the instructions provided and know the weight of your animals.

With Pour-ons, too much soiling with mud or manure may affect the efficiency of use so make sure you are using them correctly. Time is money – all of the effort in dosing, plus the cost of the wormer, is wasted when products are used incorrectly.