Want to know more about sheep parasites? This week we have Ginny Dodunski on the podcast chatting about everything from drenches and capsules, to resistance and refugia. This podcast is full of handy, helpful tips, which will hopefully make you take a step back and look at your worm management programme on farm.

In the last 12 months, Ginny has been the Wormwise programme manager but, prior to that, Ginny was (and still is) a practising large animal vet. 

Wormwise was launched as an initiative to help farmers manage drench resistance.  Ginny says that resistance to anthelmintics was always going to happen.  "Parasites were always going to develop a resistance to drugs. The more days in the year your worm population is exposed to drugs, the more opportunities they have to breed and get around it."

Mark and Ginny spend the podcast discussing what you can do if you do have drench resistance and how you can clean your farm up practically.

From different methods of refugia, cattle grazing and careful management of drench usage, Ginny says there are solutions to the problem. Mark points out that, "Well-monitored is the only way to be, you can't do any of this shooting blind." Ginny explains that, for the first few years, technical management can be overwhelming, but once you "get your eye in", she says it can be a lot less formal.

Mark and Ginny discuss the genetics behind it, and how it's not always about doing faecal egg counts and watching drenches. "It's about really focusing on feed and condition and minimising larval challenge."

If you'd like to keep up to date with Ginny and Wormwise, you can find them on Facebook here.

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited.

We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

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