Anthelmintic resistance
David Wright on 24 Nov 2021
Project seeks to extend life of wormers
The study across seven NI farms has investigated practical strategies to reduce the threat of anthelmintic resistance.
Darren Carty on 17 Nov 2021
Sheep Management: external parasites, ewe lamb decisions and worm counts
With record finished lamb prices, those retaining ewe lambs to sell as hoggets next autumn need to critically assess the quality of sheep on hand and question what the best prospects for these are.
Barry Murphy on 12 Nov 2021
Dung beetles are ‘parasite enemy number one’ – Nuffield scholar
“Our dung pats are currently like a retirement home and we need to turn them into Glastonbury,” according to Nuffield scholar Bruce Thompson.
Darren Carty on 30 Oct 2021
Abiding by environment agency rules for safe dip disposal
This week's sheep feature discussed responsible sheep dipping and footbathing to protect water quality. In this article we recap on the requirements in Northern Ireland.
Darren Carty on 06 Oct 2021
Unnecessary worm control treatments still cropping up
Some needless treatments are via some producers not realising healthy mature sheep do not need worm control treatment with others stemming from combination products being used.
Amy Forde on 22 Sep 2021
Animals on 16 farms 100% resistant to Ivermectin - study
Anthelmintic resistance is where worms in an animal survive a dose of wormer which would normally kill them.
Karen McCabe on 22 Sep 2021
Farmer Writes: clear TB tests and planning for autumn sales
Karen McCabe is a proud suckler farmer from Drumlegga, Cloone Co Leitrim.
Darren Carty on 18 Aug 2021
‘I was dosing and feeding lambs but they were still losing weight’
Fermanagh farmer Trevor Nixon gave an honest account during last week’s webinar of how lamb performance was hammered by anthelmintic resistance in 2020.
Darren Carty on 31 Jul 2021
Reducing biosecurity risks when purchasing rams and replacement females
There are three parts to incorporating replacements – identifying the type of animals you want, the exercise of purchasing them and then incorporating these into the flock in a safe manner.
Tommy Moyles on 28 Jul 2021
Farmer Writes: quieter calves make light work
Efforts to improve cattle docility and avoid anthelmintic resistance have seen a drop of in the work load on Tommy Moyles' farm.
Contributor on 14 Jul 2021
Understanding pasture contamination and its implications for management
Teagasc sheep specialists Michael Gottstein, Damian Costello and Ciaran Lynch outline how understanding the parasite challenge on pasture is key to managing anthelmintics and protecting their efficacy
Darren Carty on 14 Jul 2021
Sheep Management: cobalt deficiency, faecal egg counts and post-weaning tips
There are certain instances where mineral supplementation is vital and there are other instances where their use is unnecessary.
Kieran Mailey on 07 Jul 2021
NI Sheep Programme: using FEC for effective worm control
With anthelmintic resistance a growing problem in sheep flocks, the farmers in the NI Sheep Programme are making use of faecal egg counts to determine when to worm lambs.
Darren Carty on 09 Jun 2021
Sheep Management: anthelmintic efficacy, lamb presentation and grass management
There is excellent scope at present to achieve high levels of lamb performance provided grass quality is kept in check and any underlying health issues are avoided.
Contributor on 02 Jun 2021
Using seven-week weights to track performance
With performance to seven weeks on target, Teagasc researcher Frank Campion says the goal on farms participating in the Teagasc BETTER farm sheep programme is to carry this through to weaning.
Kieran Mailey on 29 May 2021
Beef Management: five tips for worming cattle
Worm burdens will be increasing on grazing swards, so herd owners should be thinking about dosing animals. Outlined are five tips to get the most effective cover from wormers.
Contributor on 19 May 2021
Planning your summer parasite control
AHI Beef HealthCheck programme manager Natascha Meunier looks at parasite control in summer grazing animals.
Darren Carty on 07 Apr 2021
Nematodirus risk occurring one week earlier in 2021
Larval hatching is expected to peak from 5 April to 10 April for most of the country, while peak hatching was expected between late March and the first days of April in south-western coastal regions.
Justin McCarthy on 03 Mar 2021
Locking down access to wormers is taking the easy option
Are the proper structures in place to ensure the correct dispensing of products to farmers by both vets and licensed merchants?
Niall Hurson on 17 Feb 2021
Minister urged to reconsider changes to vet medicine rules
The ICSA has warned that making routine dosing products prescription only is not going to change the fluke challenge on wet farms.