71. Internal parasites (worms) in young ruminants: Part Four. Winning the battle against worms, best practice management of youngstock and forage crops

Our latest episode in our four-part, worm-themed podcast series focuses on setting up forage crops for success, to maximise the chances of crops helping beat the worms in lambs and calves.

Forage crops fit so very well into the worm-battling, whole-farm based Wormwise ‘FARMED’ approach to managing youngstock on farm (F=Feed, A=Avoidance, R=Refugia, M=Monitor and ED=Effective Drenches) https://beeflambnz.com/knowledge-hub/PDF/wormwise-resource-book

In the podcast, hear how to optimise the chance of achieving low populations of worm eggs and larvae within your crop. We’ll revisit the importance of monitoring lambs and calves on crop through faecal egg counting, and (ideally) the regular weighing of youngstock. Finally, we’ll bring together the theory of cropping and reduced worm burdens in lambs and calves with proof of concept, farm level research. Hear about recent research by PGG Wrightson Seeds and PGG Wrightson Ltd that demonstrates that forage cropping is a viable option to reduce drench use on farm.  

For more information about the forage crop vs. internal parasite (worm) research, read the research paper by  Westwood et al (2025) Liveweight gain and faecal nematode egg counts from Romney lambs grazing five contrasting forage treatments.  New Zealand Journal of Animal Science and Production Vol 85. 61-66

https://www.nzsap.org/proceedings/brief-communication-liveweight-gain-and-faecal-nematode-egg-counts-romney-lambs-grazing