The application of enhanced monitoring, contamination mapping and modelling to reduce reliance on anthelmintics through more targeted treatments.
Project activities
- The project is running from December 2019 to June 2022.
- Each farmer will choose a group of about 100 ewes each year (grazing on the same field) that will be monitored throughout the peri-parturient period.
- A mob FEC sample will be taken from the ewe group for analysis on a weekly basis from 6 weeks before until 6-8 weeks after lambing.
- Speciation tests will also be carried out on a sub group of ewes to know what worms are present on each farm.
- This will allow a graph to be drawn up showing the peri-parturient rise of parasitic worm burden in the lead up to, and shortly after lambing.
- Ewe BCS and weight will be monitored from 6 weeks before to 6-8 weeks after lambing.
- Lamb weights will be measured at 56 and 90 days old and worm burden levels will be recorded to assess the impact on health and productivity.
The data from the first year of the project will hopefully show when worm burden levels tend to rise on each farm in the run up to lambing. This will indicate the optimal time to give anthelmintic treatments. During year two and three of the project the farmers will develop and implement treatment plans based on the evidence provided by monitoring the ewes and share their experiences with the wider industry.
Data from the project will also feed into the GLOWORM-FL model developed by Queens University Belfast and University of Liverpool. This model combines information on weather, animal movement and FEC data to predict future parasitic worm burden on an individual field basis. This could be a useful tool far farmers to manage their grazing to reduce the risk of their stock getting infected.
Potential project outputs
- Increased awareness of the importance of monitoring parasite burdens in sheep generally, and the peri-parturient rise in particular.
- Reduced exposure of sheep to roundworms through better prediction of worm burdens on pasture, and improved grazing management based on those predictions
- A slowdown in the development of resistance and a better understanding of resistance development within different species of roundworms.
- Reduced and more efficient use of anthelminthic treatments on the basis of FEC and speciation testing leading to reduction in anthelmintic use overall
Farmers are becoming increasingly better at targeting anthelmintic treatments for lambs to achieve good growth rates without compromising the efficacy of the wormers. However, treatments for ewes are often given routinely around lambing because of the risk from ewes of contaminating grazing pastures with worm burdens that they may carry. This project will investigate patterns of infections in the ewes around lambing time, known as the peri-parturient rise, to ensure treatments are targeted at the optimum time and with the most appropriate product.
Six sheep farmers based in mid and south west Wales are working together on the project to develop roundworm treatment plans for their ewes in the lead up to, and shortly after lambing. The six farmers have been working together on group-based projects for six years. They have looked at the impact of ewe body condition scoring (BCS) and weight on performance and have adopted best practice for the nutrition of their ewes with positive effects on both performance and cost effectiveness. Their goal now is to minimise the risk of ewe and lamb parasitic infections, improve lamb growth rates, and reduce their dependency on anthelmintics.
EIP Wales, which is delivered by Menter a Busnes, has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.