30/03/2011 by Stephen Dawson.

Good worm control is a vital factor in the profitability of sheep farming but in recent years this has been increasingly hampered by resistance. SCOPS guidelines were developed to address this. Over the last four years Hilary and Richard Mann have worked with SCOPS and vet Katie Essex, looking at the parasite challenges and implementing a control strategy that both improves performance and minimises the selection for worms resistant to anthelmintics. This is an opportunity to see what’s been done and take home some practical ideas to help you improve your clients’ worming programmes.

To register for your FREE place please ring Hellen or Sandra at EBLEX on 0870 609 1840 / 01904 771211 or email brpevents@eblex.org.uk

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16/03/2011 by Stephen Dawson.

All SQPs and student SQPs should receive very shortly their copy of the 2011 Compendium of Data Sheets. The cost of this is included in your annual AMTRA fee – or enrolment fee for students.

A single SQP edition of the Compendium is now produced containing all POM-VPS and NFA-VPS medicines, and is supplied by AMTRA to all SQPs and SQP students.

The new format book contains three coloured sections – for companion animals, for equines, and for food-producing animals. Medicines authorised for multiple species may therefore appear in more than one section. Although this makes the book a little thicker, it actually reduces costs by avoiding the need for three different versions.

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11/03/2011 by Stephen Dawson.

If you’re an SQP, did you know that you can get an update on your CPD points by email? Provided that we have your email address on record, just go to http://www.amtra.org.uk/cpdpoints.htm and fill in your SQP number and email address and we’ll send you back a CPD summary in a couple of minutes.

As always, remember to allow a month for CPD providers to advise AMTRA of points before you contact them with any queries.

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04/03/2011 by Stephen Dawson.

Thanks to Eblex’s “Better Returns Programme”, all farm animal SQPs and student SQPs are currently being sent by AMTRA a copy of the 2011 edition of the Cattle & Sheep Parasite Control Guide, which we hope will be useful. This includes a comprehensive list of products for the control of internal and external parasites in cattle and sheep, and now incorporates milk withhold times too.

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02/03/2011 by Stephen Dawson.

As part of AMTRA’s online CPD Programme for livestock SQPs, each month AMTRA will be emailing farm animal SQPs the NADIS Parasite Forecast which will highlight the parasitic challenge facing livestock in their area for that month.

At the end of the Parasite Forecast there is a link to a series of multiple choice questions based on its contents. Those successfully answering the quiz online will be emailed a certificate with their score and awarded an AMTRA CPD point.The Parasite Forecast has been developed by NADIS (National Animal Disease Information Service) and is written by leading veterinary parasitologists and is based on detailed data from the Met Office. This programme is supported by Merial Animal Health.

Also available from NADIS to farm animal SQPs each month is a Bulletin on animal health issues - this month on fascioliasis (liver fluke) in cattle. This also has a link at the end to an online quiz with associated CPD point.

We hope that SQPs find both the Parasite Forecast and the Bulletin interesting and helpful.

If you’re a farm animal SQP and haven’t received this, it may be because we don’t have an email address for you, or the email didn’t reach you - perhaps because it went to a shared computer. Contact the AMTRA office to advise us of a personal email address and you can be sure of getting the forecast and bulletin next month.

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01/03/2011 by Stephen Dawson.

The first six AHDA and AMTRA CPD events have taken place over the last two weeks from Devon to Aberdeen, and have been well received by SQPs. We’re expecting over 500 SQPs will have attended one of the series of events.

On Monday 7 March we are in Carmarthenshire, moving to Wrexham, Hexham and Penrith by 10 March. Those four events have companion animal and VMD content in the afternoon, with farm animal worm and fluke control, plus VMD content, in the evening. We move to eastern and central England from 28 March for five companion animal events. More details and booking forms on the AMTRA website.

Don’t forget there are still four more of the very popular BETA events (including a new date of 7 April near Wetherby), and the Merial events at Twycross and Bristol Zoos - more details on the AMTRA website.

In response to demand we are in the early stages of planning an AHDA/AMTRA CPD event in Northern Ireland in mid-May. More details soon.

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