1. Always make sure any treatment you give is fully effective.
SCOPS is an industry led group that works in the interest of the UK sheep industry. It recognises that, left unchecked, anthelmintic resistance is one of the biggest challenges to the future health and profitability of the sector.
The SCOPS group was formed to develop sustainable strategies for parasite control in sheep, facilitate and oversee the delivery of these recommendations to the industry and ensure that new research and development is incorporated to refine and improve advice given to the sheep industry.
SCOPS includes representatives from a wide range of industry organisations – logos and links are below. The equivalent organisation for cattle is the Control Of Worms Sustainably (COWS).
As the risk in England and Wales reduces, hill and upland areas in northern England and Scotland are now at the highest risk with several areas at HIGH or VERY HIGH RISK. This means that April and early May born lambs on these farms may be at risk. click here for how to assess risk and what action to take. Click below for the interactive forecast map:
With grazing under pressure in many parts of the country following a very dry spring, many sheep farmers are looking at weaning lambs earlier than normal. "Normally most lambs are weaned between about 12 and 16 weeks of age, but this can be brought down to 8-10 weeks given the right circumstances," says Lesley Stubbings.
“Weaning is a very useful management tool, allowing allocation and prioritisation of the dry matter available, but it has to be weighed up against potential pitfalls such as the challenge they could face from worms" she adds.
Click here for more information
