Blanket worming is an out of date practice that can do more harm than good. It allows resistance to build, a dangerous proposition when there are only a few types of wormer to choose from. In addition, farmers will waste money by treating animals that don’t need it. Group worming is more effective, but could we refine this even further to target individual animals? A trial is underway at four sheep farms in South West England to see if it is viable. Let’s have a closer look here.

ADOPT trail

The trail, funded by Defra’s ADOPT programme, is testing the benefits of using an array of resources to monitor sheep on the farms. The core of the trial is a new app, SmartWorm. It uses electronic identification (EID) systems, growth rates, grazing conditions, weather, and key observations from farmers to evaluate animals. Ultimately, the idea is to ensure only lambs identified as needing worming get a treatment. Ongoing vet support, including egg count testing and lab testing, helps too.

The combination of resources is fantastic here. The app can track key things like liveweights, food intake, and animal movements. In addition, it can consider the weather and grazing quality. Farmers can also identify any animals suffering from scouring (this could be the cause of poor weight gain rather than parasites).

Benefits

This trail is currently underway and will also include two grazing seasons in 2027. Afterwards, we’ll be able to see how effective it was at targeting wormer treatments to individual animals. Critically, we’ll be able to see the impact on performance and animal welfare.

The key goal is to see if this kind of approach can reduce the use of wormers without compromising performance. If it can, the benefits are fantastic. Crucially, it could slow the rate of resistance. Additionally, farmers would save money on treating animals. It could even improve feed efficiency to deliver more economic rewards.

Auto drafting systems could help improve results even more. They sort animals effectively without much physical intervention from farmers. As a result, they can remove animals that could be struggling with parasites from the rest of the herd quickly.

Speak to us about wormer and how to get the best results

Worming is something livestock farmers need to think carefully about. It is necessary at times, but poor execution and dosing animals that don’t need it is a bad strategy. Making better use of existing resources and equipment, as well as using newer tools and getting support from vets, could provide outstanding results.

If you need advice, JS Hubbuck Ltd is happy to help. We’ve built a reputation as one of the friendliest, most supportive businesses in our industry. Notably, we ensure we are familiar with the products we stock, including different types of wormer, so we can share the information with you. You can ask us questions about anything, such as applications, active ingredients, and more.

So, get in touch today if you need details or want to order anything.