Understanding the Benefits of Season-Long Worm Control in Cattle

 As a farmer, planning worm control prior to turnout is vital to prevent cattle from becoming infected at grass, which could lead to subsequent production losses.

Asking the following questions can help you and your animal health care provider understand when to treat cattle and with what product:

• What is the likely worm burden?
• When are cattle being turned out?
• Are they being grazed away from the farm?
• What are the handling facilities like?
• Do you want the convenience of treating and handling once?

By answering these questions, you will be able to understand some clear situations where protecting stock with a long-acting wormer such as CYDECTIN^® 10% LA or Autoworm^® will be useful. These include:

• Where there is a potential threat from worms and the animals are being grazed away from the farm with no handling facilities
• Where stock is not being checked regularly – e.g. on hill land
• Where pasture is known to be high risk for parasites, but there are no alternative grazing areas
• Where you are treating strategically to reduce pasture contamination
• Where you want the convenience of only having to treat and handle once within the season

Additional benefits include:

• Offering peace of mind stock is protected
• Less stress for animals as they are only handled once
• Ensuring all animals are treated correctly without the risk of missing follow up doses

Anthelmintic resistance is a common problem in sheep parasites, and it is now being seen more often in cattle worms. Risk factors for the development of anthelmintic resistance include under dosing, unnecessary treatments and repeated use of products.

To help prevent resistance it is important to use the product in the correct way and at the correct time. CYDECTIN LA or Autoworm, for example, should be given at turnout to help reduce the level of pasture contamination throughout the grazing season.  

As with any wormer treatments, it is important you discuss products and treatment plans with your animal health care provider and choose the product most suitable for your herd and the parasite challenge on your farm.

By having a parasite control plan in place, you will be in a better position to the production efficiency of your herd, and ultimately your bottom line.