70. Internal parasites (worms) in young ruminants: Part Three. Forage crops in our battle against worms

70. Internal parasites (worms) in young ruminants: Part Three. Forage crops in our battle against worms

From The Rumen Room Podcasts by cwestwood

April 8, 2026 · 42 min · Episode 70

About this episode

This episode discusses the potential of forage crops as a strategy to combat internal parasites in young ruminants.

Ongoing resistance challenges by sheep and cattle worms to drenches - what a headache for us!! We're now needing alternative, non-drench strategies to work alongside a more limited and targeted use of effective drenches to beat worms. Might forage crops help reduce the need for regular, repeated drenching of our lambs and calves? YES, potentially! Forage crops fit perfectly into the worm-battling, whole farm based 'FARMED' approach endorsed by Wormwise (F=Feed, A=Avoidance, R=Refugia, M=Monitor and ED=Effective Drenches). https://beeflambnz.com/knowledge-hub/PDF/wormwise-resource-book Forage crops work in at least two different ways to battle worms - based on the FARMED approach to worm control. Compared to pasture feeding, crops can deliver better ruminant nutrition (feed = F) and help animals avoid ingesting large numbers of infective L3 worm larvae (avoidance = A). Our latest podcast dives deep into detail around forage crops vs worms. Listen in to hear more about how and why forage crops might be the extra tool in the toolkit you’ve been looking for to help win the battle against worms.

People in this episode

Host: cwestwood

Topics covered

  • internal parasites
  • forage crops
  • ruminant nutrition
  • worm control
  • drench resistance

Keywords

  • internal parasites
  • forage crops
  • worms
  • ruminants
  • drench resistance
  • nutrition
  • FARMED approach

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Wormwise, Beef + Lamb New Zealand

More episodes of The Rumen Room Podcasts

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Rumen Room Podcasts podcast page.