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TOP JOBS

I don’t know about you, but I like the game show “Jeopardy.” There is something about knowing the question behind an answer that gets me excited. So, let’s question a “Jeopardy” answer this week to kick off our visit.

Here we go, for 100 points. This South African animal husbandry technique is used to strategically de-worm sheep and goats around the world. If you answered FAMACHA, give yourself 100 points because you are right.

If you raise sheep or goats and have not heard about this internal parasite management system, deduct 100 points, read the rest of this week’s column and plan on attending an upcoming producer training to learn how to use this system.

If you don’t have sheep or goats, stick with us anyway, you just might use this little bit of new information to win bragging rights in a trivia contest someday.

Sheep and goats, especially in the warm and humid East Texas climate, are very prone to infestation by internal parasites. One of the worst of these parasites is called Haemonchus contortus a.k.a. the Barber Pole worm. Haemonchus lives in the abomasum (true stomach) of sheep and goats and “makes its living” off of the host animal’s blood supply. This parasite is capable of removing such large amounts of blood from its host that the host animal becomes very anemic. Death is a very common occurrence among sheep and goats infested with Haemonchus.

Antihelmetics (de-wormers) are used by sheep and goat raisers to battle Haemonchus and other internal parasites. However, frequent almost prophylactic use of these products has led to the development of resistant strains of internal parasites, including Haemonchus.

FAMACHA uses a method of determining Haemonchus parasite load in a sheep or goat by examining the eyelid color of each animal in the herd and comparing it to a chart. Depending upon eyelid color, a particular animal would either be de-wormed or not, hopefully saving the producer money and extending the useable time frame of a particular de-wormer on an operation.

It is estimated that only about 20 to 30 percent of the animals in a herd carry most of the parasite load and shed most of the eggs that can lead to re-infestation. Using the FAMACHA system, combined with good record-keeping, might allow a producer to cull the majority of the chronically infested animals from the herd, decreasing the overall parasite burden on the farm. Additionally, the fact that all of the animals in the herd are examined closely every two to three weeks, producers might be able to notice and treat other problems that arise with herd animals at earlier stages of development.

It is important to note that FAMACHA is only designed to assist with controlling Haemonchus contortus infestations and that other causes of anemia in animals exist. This system also requires more labor than traditional management methods because of the need to handle all of the animals in the herd on a frequent basis. Producers must use the FAMACHA chart during eyelid inspections and not try to rely on memory to visualize the different eyelid shades on the chart. Finally, producers must attend training in order to receive the FAMACHA materials.

The Smith County Extension office is teaming up with the East Texas Farm and Ranch Club to bring a FAMACHA system training to Tyler on July 1. The training, which will be held in the Activities Building on the East Texas State Fairgrounds, 2112 W. Front St., will get under way with registration and supper beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Dr. Frank Craddock, Texas AgriLife Extension Service sheep and goat specialist from San Angelo, will train producers in the use of the FAMACHA system through classroom and hands-on instruction using live goats (which brings up the important point of wearing appropriate clothing to the training).

Cost for the training is $20 per person or $25 per couple, which includes one set of the FAMACHA materials.

Please make reservations by June 27 by calling the East Texas State Fair office at 903-597-2501. Space is limited in this workshop, so register soon. Don’t put your goats in jeopardy; learn FAMACHA today.

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Brian Triplett is the Smith County

Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources. He can be reached at 903-590-2980, via e-mail at b-triplett@tamu.edu, or on the Web at http://smith-tx.tamu.edu or http://tceblogs.tamu.edu (Blogging with Brian).