Free liver-fluke testing on 1,000 farms

Teagasc has offered free liver-fluke testing to 1,000 beef, sheep and dairy farmers, as part of a research project.

The Agriculture and Food Development Authority is undertaking the project to establish levels of liver fluke on Irish farms. For beef suckler farms, seven cows will be blood-sampled during a farm visit, between October, 2014 and January, 2015.

If you have fewer cows, they will all be tested. For sheep farmers, sampling kits for 20 ewes (or less if the flock is smaller) will be posted to you. Collect dung from 20 different ewes and post the sample to the lab for testing, using a pre-paid box, which will be supplied.