Tirlan

Project Aims: 

• To investigate the practicalities and benefits of contamination mapping on a commercial farm in a bid to tackle anthelmintic failure issues.
• Farmers need to find ways to reduce their reliance on wormers while maintaining good lamb performance. The project will implement a different approach to worm control by aiming to reduce the worm population on farm rather than accepting high worm burdens and treating with anthelmintics.
• Contamination mapping and integrated parasite management systems offer an advancement on routine faecal egg counting (FEC) sampling by identifying which fields have the worst worm burden.
• Identifying the worst affected fields will help manage what stock class is grazed where, and identify fields where alternative management can be targeted to reduce burdens.
• FEC samples will be undertaken and a data capture form completed including group name, field name, date on and off and number of ewes and lambs in each group. This will build a picture of which fields have the highest worm infestation and allow better management decisions regarding which fields lambs graze. Cattle may graze some fields to reduce worm burden.