Jess Tilley-Moore: We should use sheep medicines more responsibly

If in doubt, drench it. Not everyone says that, but we’ve all met someone who’s convinced a wormer can solve just about anything.

As a 20-year-old first-generation farmer with my own pedigree Greyface Dartmoor flock and being an AMTRA SQP, I’ve learned good stockmanship isn’t about how many products you use, it’s about knowing when you actually need them.

See also: Jess Tilley-Moore – an ag degree alone doesn’t make you a farmer

About the author

Jess Tilley-Moore

Jess Tilley-Moore, 20, works at Lower Drayton Farm, an award-winning farm park attraction in Staffordshire, where she is an educational leader and helps manage the livestock. She also has her own small flock of pedigree sheep.

Read more articles by Jess Tilley-Moore

This summer has certainly tested that. Like many, I’ve had my own battle with barber’s pole worm with the prolonged warm, humid weather creating ideal conditions for it.

It’s a nasty parasite because you don’t always get warning signs. It feeds on blood, leaving sheep severely anaemic and, by the time you realise something isn’t right, it can already be too late.

Sadly, that was the reality for me. I lost one of my own ewes, despite blood transfusions and round-the-clock care.

Another became critically ill and needed a blood transfusion.

Thankfully, she pulled through, but it was heartbreaking and reminded me just how quickly parasites can get the upper hand.

But what it didn’t do was make me reach for the drench gun every five minutes.

If anything, it reinforced why we have to be smarter with parasite control.

We’re lucky to have effective wormers available, but every unnecessary treatment gives worms another opportunity to develop resistance.

That’s where faecal egg counts (FECs) come in. Before treating, they allow us to ask one simple question, do these sheep actually need worming?

Sometimes the best thing we can do is absolutely nothing at all.

I know that can make some people more uncomfortable than a sheep loose on the village green, but treating for the sake of treating isn’t good for your animals or your bank account.

Good parasite control is about the bigger picture – including grazing management, weighing sheep before dosing, monitoring performance and using FECs so wormers work for years to come.

It’s about treating the right sheep, at the right time, for the right reason.

We owe it to our livestock, our businesses and the future of farming to use the medicines we have responsibly.