The control of liver fluke presents sheep farmers with a huge challenge due in part to its complicated life cycle. Environmental factors such as farm topography and the weather have a large part to play and it is important for all farmers to consider what control measures are possible by good management practices.
As a part of this, it is necessary to understand which fields are high risk at which times of year and which categories of stock to put where. This presentation will discuss the principles of pasture protection, which aims to limit the contamination of fluke eggs on snail habitats, stock protection, which keeps susceptible animals away from high risk areas and whole farm protection, which ensures a robust quarantine policy for bought-in stock.
We will explore how to use flock management, veterinary supported health planning and the strategic use of diagnostics to minimise the need for pharmaceutical products. We will discuss the responsible use of pharmaceuticals for those circumstances when they are necessary.
