This month I want to highlight a useful prediction tool that has been made available on the SCOPS website: the blowfly forecast, writes Nerys Wright.
After discussing the Nematodirus forecast last month, it feels timely to turn our attention to flystrike, particularly as parasites continue to change in response to our weather, climate, and the technology now available to help us manage them.
We are seeing flystrike starting earlier in the year in some areas, alongside a season that is extending later than usual in others. This variability makes it increasingly important to use any fly control product as effectively as possible – especially when fly control is one of the biggest veterinary and medicine costs on many sheep farms.
The SCOPS blowfly forecast indicates when temperatures have been high enough, for long enough, for blowflies to emerge. But it is important to remember that fly emergence is not the same as seeing cases of strike in sheep.
Many factors influence how quickly emergence turns into actual strike on farm, including:
- local fly population pressure
- fleece length and soiling
- humidity and rainfall
- grazing conditions (sheltered fields vs windy hill tops) – sheltered, warmer areas allow flies to remain active for longer, increasing strike risk
- existing strike on neighbouring farms
- wounds or bad feet.
To help validate and fine tune this forecast, SCOPS are asking SQPs, vets, and farmers to report any cases of strike – whether eggs or maggots. These reports will be used solely to validate forecast accuracy.
Cases will be collated by Elanco, who already operate an established strike reporting system.
For full details about the forecast and how it should be interpreted, visit: www.scops.org.uk/forecasts/blowfly-forecast/
For further details, speak to Nerys Wright is an independent sheep consultant. For more details, call 07891 187643 or visit sheepconsultancy.co.uk.