May 2020

A webinar on BioWorma® was held May 13. Chris Lawlor from International Animal Health was the presenter. After his presentation he answered questions from the webinar participants. The webinar was recorded and the recording was uploaded to YouTube.

BioWorma® contains a fungus that reduces pasture infectivity by trapping and killing worm larvae when it is in the manure of livestock. BioWorma® is commercially available in the US, Australia, and New Zealand.

https://youtu.be/i-JmxoytzDc

Small Ruminant Extension Specialists in Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia teamed up to offer a weekly worm webinar series via ZOOM. Every Tuesday, a different topic pertaining to internal parasites (worms + coccidia) is discussed. The first webinar was held April 10. The last will be June 9. Three more live webinars are still on the schedule.

May 25
Deworming right
Susan Schoenian (University of Maryland)

June 2
What to do when deworming's not enough
Dr. Niki Whitley (Fort Valley State University)

June 9
Breeding worm resistant animals
Dr. Dahlia O'Brien (Virginia State University)

Register at https://go.umd.edu/worm-webinars

All of the webinars are recorded and the recordings are uploaded to YouTube. Links to the recordings are available on the ACSRPC web page at https://www.wormx.info/webinar-videos.

Grass, Goats, and Uninvited Guests is the name of a new curriculum for teaching youth about internal parasites in small ruminants. The innovative, hands-on curriculum uses stuffed animals, group learning, and edible treats to teach participants about the FAMACHA system, body condition scoring, fecal soiling, and fecal egg counting.

Read more . . .

The latest fact sheet in the series "Best Management Practices for Internal Parasite Control in Small Ruminants" is now available. The topic is the periparturient egg rise. The author is Dr. Joan Burke from the Small Farms Research Center in Booneville, Arkansas.

Download fact sheet

There are two long-term, holistic approaches to reining in the barber pole worm (Haemonchus contortus): grazing management and genetic selection. The one with the most immediate returns is strategic grazing. In their 2018 fact sheet, ATTRA discusses strategies for using grazing management to control parasites in the Intermountain West.

Download fact sheet

Why didn't deworming improve FAMACHA scores?
by Steve Hart, Langston University

Deworming animals with FAMACHA© scores of 4 or 5 should result in the improvement of FAMACHA© scores by at least one when checked two weeks later. What if it doesn’t? There are several reasons why deworming small ruminants may not improve their FAMACHA© scores.

Read full article
Download as PDF file

Due to Covid-19, all educational offerings are online, usually via ZOOM webinars.

April 21-June 9 (12-1 pm)

Weekly Worm Webinars
Delaware-Maryland-Georgia-Virginia Extension

Register at https://go.umd.edu/worm-webinars

May 30
Parasite Workshop and FAMACHA© training
Langston University
Info: http://www.luresext.edu/?q=content/parasite-workshop-and-famacha-training

June 2, 9, 16, and 23
Sustainable Management of Internal Parasites in Sheep and Goats
in the Upper Midwest and Northeast USA
Michigan State University
Register at https:/commerce.cashnet.com/msu_3645

June 25
The number one killer (barber pole worm)
University of Maryland Extension Backyard Farming Series

Info: https://go.umd.edu/backyardfarming

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The University of Rhode Island continues to offer online FAMACHA© certification at https://web.uri.edu/sheepngoat/famacha/.

WORMINFO is a monthly newsletter about gastro-intestinal parsites. It is sent to subscribers to the WORMINFO listserv. The WORMINFO listserv lets subscribers know when something new has posted to WORMX, the web site of the American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control (ACSRPC). To subscribe to the WORMINFO listserv, send an email to listserv@listserv.umd.edu. In the body of the message, write subscribe WORMINFO. You can also subscribe to the newsletters via Smore.

The ACSRPC is a group of scientists, veterinarians, and extension specialists dedicated to helping small ruminant producers control GI parasites in their flocks and herds. The consortium was formed in 2003 in response to the critical state of the small ruminant industry associated with the emergence of anthelmintic resistant worms.

Email: sschoen@umd.edu
Website: http://www.wormx.info