How to navigate changes in parasite controls

I have become increasingly interested in why people do – or don’t do – certain things, writes Nerys Wright. Why, for example, do some people embrace change while others struggle?

I recently read a book called ‘Switch – How to Change Things When Change is Hard.’ it was a fascinating read. It is not a farming book – but it made me reflect on the ways I communicate during meetings and with farmers

I wrote down some key messages from the book that really hit home:

• In the absence of a dire threat, people will keep doing what they’ve always done.

• Incentives to change behaviour don’t work.

• Knowledge isn’t enough to motivate change. Motivation comes from confidence.

• We need to believe we can change and understand why it is necessary.

• What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.

A good example is parasite control. Despite shifting recommendations over the last 20 years, many farmers struggle to adopt more sustainable practices. Why? Probably because there isn’t so much information on implementing change.

We also re moving away from the straightforward message of ‘worm your lambs every three weeks’ to more complex and variable approaches, making it clear why change is challenging.

A good example is faecal egg counting (FECs). When I started my career 20 years ago, FECs were just becoming a useful farm management tool. But many people still don’t do it – choosing to use other methods instead.

Yet FECs can be beneficial. If you search for ‘benefits of egg counting,’ you will find plenty of data supporting its effectiveness. However, many start doing counts and then stop, while some have never started at all.

If you’re thinking, “I need to look at my parasite control programme, FECs might be a good place to start” please get in touch with your sheep vet, SQP, or advisor. They’d be happy to help.

Nerys Wright is an independent sheep consultant. For more details, call 07891 187643 or visit sheepconsultancy.co.uk.

Growers should delay drilling of multi-species herbal leys

Growers trying multi-species leys for the first time this spring are advised to use the most appropriate establishment method.

Agronomists report a significant uptake in multi-species leys driven by the Sustainable Farming Incentive. But inexperienced growers could struggle – and see establishment backfire, says Jim Juby, of Horizon Seeds.

“Establishing herbal and multi-species leys is fundamentally different from grassland reseeding and it is important that people appreciate this if they want to get the best out of them,” says Mr Juby.

“Herbal and multi-species leys are far less likely to respond well to a low soil temperature. A soil temperature of 6^oC recorded five days consecutively, which is usually achieved in mid to late April, is more than adequate for grass to grow away quickly.

“This is, however, too cold for these more vulnerable and slower growing forage species with the herb and legumes in the ley requiring a warmer soil to establish well.

“The legumes contained in multispecies leys mixes are particularly susceptible and these  are a key element of the crops as they provide the protein content that makes them so beneficial to cows and livestock.

“If these do not grow away quickly when sown, they will simply be overwhelmed by grasses and potentially weeds, and their contribution will be negligible.

“It is far better to wait until May when soil temperatures have been 8-10^oC for five consecutive days than go earlier for the sake of it.”

Problematic

Heavier soils that hold onto water are likely to be the most problematic, he points out. “You might be able to go earlier in lighter soils that are more free draining, but the recommendations regarding soil temperature remain.

“The last thing you want is weak, open leys that can simply not get going and quickly succumb to weed pressure and more vigorously growing plants in the mix.”

Sowing in late spring and into summer is far preferable than autumn drilling. “It takes multi-species leys six weeks to establish themselves and to grow away, so you are unlikely to get the right conditions if you drill after 1 September.

“Soil moisture can be a problem as the summer develops, but there is far less risk of this being an issue than there is of too cold a temperature and day length post Autumn.

“A good herbal ley will, however, be capable of surviving and succeeding in both drought and waterlogged conditions where pure grass leys may suffer.”