Dipping protocols: The relatively positive weather forecast is likely to witness an increase in plunge dipping as farmers prepare for breeding and incorporate replacements in to the flock or purchase store lambs. The dipping procedure adopted is central to a successful outcome. It is important to accurately identify the capacity of the dipping tub for the correct concentration. A close count should be kept of sheep moving through the tub and product should be replenished / topped up as recommended in manufacturer’s guidelines.

In terms of animal management, sheep should be rested in advance of dipping with fasting advised to reduce faecal contamination. For adequate control of sheep scab, sheep must spend at least one minute in the tub and be fully immersed at least once and ideally twice to address any mites that may be present on the head or in an animal’s ears.

The tub should be refilled after the recommended number of sheep. This is generally one sheep to 2l of dip, ie a 1,000l tank refilled after 500 sheep. Sheep should never be dipped in solution that has remained in the tub overnight as this can lead to post-dipping lameness. Manufacturers of dip also highlight that it is important that there is no other chemicals or products added to the solution.

There is a greater focus on the safe disposal of spent sheep dip and preventing chemicals from entering waterways. As such, sheep should stand in the draining area for 10 to 15 minutes and not be released to areas following dipping where there is any chance of coming in contact with waterways for at least 24 hours. Likewise, dipping should take place on a fine day to ensure that chemicals bind to the fleece of the wool and prevent wash off.

The advice issued by the Department of Agriculture is to dilute sheep dip at a rate of 1:3 with slurry or water and land spread at a rate not exceeding 5,000l/ha (440 gallons per acre) of sheep dip, equivalent to 20,000l/ha (1,760 gallons per acre) of diluted dip. It is also advised that livestock do not graze these areas for a month post-application.

Lamb presentation: Store lamb entries in mart sales have jumped over the last week. Mart managers are again reminding producers of the merits of optimum presentation. The maximum weight variation within a group should ideally be 4kg to 5kg while lambs should be batched on type and gender. It may not seem readily apparent but mart managers comment that there are far more customers for lambs that have been dagged, where necessary, and also where tags have been applied with care for replacement sheep. Similar advice applies for cull ewes with heavy fleshed ewes continuing to attract a premium on price.

Thin ewe study: Page 45 gives details of a thin ewe survey currently being run by the Department of Agriculture Regional Veterinary Laboratories and Teagasc. For many farmers the thoughts of foregoing the value of selling a cull ewe may possibly be influencing taking advantage of the initiative.

However, where there are issues with ill-thrift and poor-performing ewes in a flock the value of selling ewes pales into insignificance compared to getting to the route of the problem and being able to put a control programme in place. Where there is any doubts it is worth talking with your vet or Teagasc adviser about the potential benefits.