Partner Insight: Have you made parasite plans?

Before turnout it’s crucial to make a parasite control plan to protect your cattle over the coming grazing season.

clock • 2 min read
Plan for parasites
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Plan for parasites

Gutworm species, liver fluke, and the cattle lungworm pose significant threats to the health, fertility, and productivity of your cattle, and youngstock are particularly at risk.

To combat these threats, a proactive approach is essential, working closely with your vet or local animal health advisor to balance sufficient exposure to gutworm and lungworm species to build robust immunity over time, while minimising the risk of parasitic disease and production loss.

Planning your pasture usage is an important step. Safe grazing should be preserved for animals more susceptible to parasitic disease from a gutworm challenge, and plan to rotate or rest other fields to prevent high worm burdens building up. Identifying when cleaner paddocks will become available, and can be prioritised for youngstock, will help minimise the impact of worms on their growth.

Susceptible cattle on farms with a known risk of lungworm could benefit from a lungworm vaccine. Discuss with your vet and remember that both doses need to be given before turnout. Regular monitoring and pasture management is still required because a high lungworm challenge can still overcome vaccine-induced immunity.

Turning cattle out fluke-free is also an important step in breaking the lifecycle of this parasite. Faecal egg count tests in late winter can help identify whether treatment is required to remove the adult stage of liver fluke to prevent egg output in the spring, and reduce pasture infectivity later in the season.

IVOMEC® Classic Pour-On is a tried and tested wormer that treats and provides protection against reinfection with the most pathogenic gutworm species, Ostertagia ostertagi for up to 21 days, and the cattle lungworm for up to 28 days.

 

IVOMEC® CLASSIC Pour-On for cattle contains ivermectin. POM-VPS. Advice should be sought from the prescriber. Further information available in the SPC or from Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd, RG12 8YS, UK. Tel: 01344 746957. Email: [email protected]. IVOMEC® and the Steerhead® logo are registered trademarks of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health France SCS, used under licence. ©2024 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd. All rights reserved. Date of preparation: Jan 2024. UI-BOV-0005-2024. Use Medicines Responsibly

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