Have A Deworming Plan Before Summer Heat Hits The PNW

David Sjeklocha, Technical Services Veterinarian at Merck Animal Health said in his experience, many producers don’t recognize how important it is to keep cattle as clean as possible of parasites.

He said parasites can be a huge burden on cattle and with what cows cost these days, he said dealing with parasites needs to be a priority year-round. To help producers, Merck has SAFE-GUARD, an oral, white dewormer.

“That product has been around for decades, and we have not seen any real reduction in efficacy," Sjeklocha said. "We're not seeing any resistance to it. A lot of people are using it in combination with some of the ivermectins or avermectins and that even the safeguard in combination with those makes those products better.”

Photo: USDA

A Good Dewormer Is A True Investment

Sjeklocha cited a recent study that indicated deworming cattle multiple times during the grazing period resulted in more weight at the time of sale; up to 17 pounds per animal.

He said he understands that budgets are tight, but he was quick to point out not deworming your livestock may save you pennies, just to lose dollars.

“There are a couple things that you're pretty much guaranteed to be profitable," Sjeklocha noted. "One of them is using a growth promoting implant and the other one is deworming your cattle. If you have any questions on that, do a fecal egg count, or have your veterinarian, or a Merck Animal Health sales rep come out and pick up some samples and we can do a fecal egg count and tell you what your parasite load is on your cattle.”