Animal Health Ireland (AHI) has welcomed the extension of the Parasite Control Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH) into 2023.
Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue confirmed on Friday (December 16), that the control strategy for cattle and sheep would be rolled out again in the new year.
The minister also confirmed that all herds or flocks will be eligible to take part in the programme in 2023, while all those registered in 2022 will automatically be re-enrolled in January meaning farmers will not have to re-register.
The programme, which was introduced this year, is delivered by AHI and funded by TASAH, which comes under the 2014-2022 Rural Development Plan.
According to AHI, over the past 12 months, the programme saw a high level of uptake, with more than 10,000 farmers participating.
Under the strategy, farmers receive a free farm visit and veterinary consultation, to advise on parasite control by a trained vet as well as faecal egg sampling and interpretation. The farmers will subsequently receive specific advice on combatting parasites within their herds or flocks.
AHI also told farmers that if they did not avail of these services in this year’s programme, they will be able to register for this on the application page on their website in January
“The control of parasites is complex and farm specific so this programme was an excellent opportunity for farmers to have their veterinary practitioners on farm to discuss the nuances of parasite control with their clients and develop farm-specific parasite control plans,” AHI said in a statement.
“Anthelmintic resistance is present in Ireland in both sheep and cattle worms and this complicates parasite control as we need to strive to put practices in place that delay the further development of this resistance.
“The continuation of the programme into 2023 supports our farmers to navigate this challenge to animal health,” it finished.