AMTRA-qualified RAMAs support farmers by offering advice and prescribing preventative medications and treatments, including for sustainable worm control.
In the first episode of the new season of the Wynnstay Agri-Hub Podcast, I was joined by Sarah Brooks, who facilitates AMTRA training and supports our team of 200 qualified RAMAs, and Chris from the Cardigan store. Together, we delved into how farmers can get the right advice on medicines, and the support we can offer and highlighted some seasonal challenges.
In order to increase performance in any flock, it is important to consider regular body condition scoring (BCS) in order to identify any drastic changes in ewe condition not noticeable through observation alone. Through this you can ensure that ewes are on target for the system and the time of year, and in turn will result in improved fertility, increased lamb performance and reduced incidence of metabolic diseases.
The target condition score will vary depending on the farm type, breed, and time of year and ewe prolificacy.
Whether lambs will be retained for breeding or finishing, it is imperative that they have the correct balance of trace elements in order to thrive. The 4 key trace elements needed for optimal performance are Selenium, Cobalt, Iodine and Zinc. All these trace elements are contained within the ‘Wynnstay Lamb Bolus’, or alternatively if lambs only require Cobalt, then the ‘Wynnstay Cobalt B12’ bolus is a suitable alternative.
Rigorous and sustained adoption by farmers of an established disease management protocol is what’s needed to reduce the incidence of sheep lameness on many UK farms.
Managing the shedding of eggs from ewes in spring can be one way of minimising the worm larvae uptake by lambs later in the grazing season and thus reduce the need for subsequent treatments.
The rationale behind treating ewes is that it reduces the number of worm eggs a ewe puts onto pasture when her immune system relaxes around lambing – a term known as the spring rise.
Just like the weather, parasites can be just as unpredictable, striking stock at varying times with no two years the same.
This means that when it comes to parasite control, decisions around treatments should be based around the risk on the farm at that time, rather than what was done in the previous year.
When it comes to managing worms in sheep, it is no longer acceptable to use anthelmintics routinely. While wormers have their place, they need to be preserved for use at the right time to stop the development of anthelmintic resistance.
Liver fluke can cause significant issues in both sheep and cattle. The risk varies throughout the year, meaning different approaches are needed to manage the challenges.
As protein demand increases worldwide, efficiency in production is crucial to meet this challenge. Internal parasites are the greatest cause of lost production in grazed ruminants, so their management and control are vital to enable sustainable production from pasture.
Control of the spring rise using CYDECTIN® Long Acting Injection for sheep was determined to be highly effective in a recent study. The study investigated the impact of utilising persistent and non-persistent treatments to control the spring rise.
