Fluke treatment helps make the most of Spring grazing

With feed prices spiraling like never before and spring grass starting to benefit from increasing soil temperatures, beef producers will be looking to maximize returns from grass this season.

But the mild wet weather also encourages the development of snails and fluke and, with mean monthly temperatures rising, possibly due to global warming, the risk of fluke infestation of the pasture comes earlier each year.

Fluke infestation in cattle can prejudice daily weight gain by depressing appetite and reducing feed intake by up to 11 per cent compared with treated cattle1. This can compromise the profitability of the enterprise, because of the extended period required to reach finishing weight, the increased feed required and a reduction in the eventual value of the animal when it reaches the abattoir.

"Grassland managers should ensure that their pasture is kept as clean as possible, to prevent infestation," says Merial Animal Health's Fiona MacGillivray. "Breaking the fluke cycle by treating with IVOMEC® Super around 3 months post-turnout can help reduce fluke egg output by up to 96 per cent2 and improve weight gain by up to 74kg2. In set stocked cattle, the timing of the mid-season dose of IVOMEC Super may be used on its own or as part of an IVOMEC early season dosing programme, in order to gain the added benefit of highly effective gutworm control.

"Many farmers underestimate the importance of fluke treatments during the summer, as a way of reducing pasture contamination, instead focusing purely on autumn housing doses," she says. "But failing to undertake the post-turnout dosing regime means that pasture fluke levels increase and the challenge to cattle can be significant. Worming alone without a flukicide is not sufficient to protect cattle, protect liveweight gains and maximise returns from the farmer's only freely available asset – grassland."

With the focus now firmly on the bottom line, the value of the liver at the abattoir can no longer be ignored. Industry sources report that up to 20% of cattle livers are condemned at slaughter – costing the farming industry up to £3 million each year in lost income.

Alan McNaughton of McIntosh Donald Ltd, Portlethen, Aberdeen, said: "Ox liver is a straight-off loss if it can't be sold and, while it's a relatively small value in itself, it mounts up across a number of animals. Of course, fluke infestation also has an impact on the finished weight of the animal. The cost of slaughter is the same irrespective of this finished weight, so a heavier animal coming in at R3L or better with a clean liver is always going to be more efficient both for the abattoir and the farmer".

"It makes sense to treat at turnout if you are finishing on grass. Every farmer producing finished cattle should be doing something to avoid fluke infestation."