Producers are finding some chemical solutions for flystrike are not as effective as they once were, but research is underway to determine whether chemical resistance might be to blame.
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The News South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Australian Wool Innovation have partnered to advance research into blowfly chemical resistance and to help educate farmers on pest management practices to get the most amount of time out of the suggested protection period.
It comes off the back of a trial carried out from 2018 to 2020, where a research team led by Narrelle Sales of the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, collected samples of maggots off flyblown sheep around the country to see if there was a chemical resistance occurring within flocks.
Now, the AWI team are recollecting samples from the farms that have submitted maggots in the previous trial and other properties to determine if the resistance has changed at all to the chemicals.
The study will also determine whether farmers have changed their management practices over the past two years.
The project kicked off again in September last year and there were a large number of samples that came from Western Australia and New South Wales, and a smaller number from Tasmania.
Ms Sales said the focus on the research trial was to educate producers how to manage the flystrike in the most efficient way.
"Producers in New South Wales producers are well aware of this research and want to know," she said.
"Because these products are not cheap, if you are only getting half or a third of the protection period, you want to know."
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Australian Wool Innovation general manager Bridget Peachey said the AWI was holding "Simplifly" workshops around the country to help share the findings and educate producers to manage flystrike with not only chemicals, but through manual practices such as crutching and shearing.
"A clear message for growers with flystrike season coming up, is to not treat and forget," Ms Peachey said.
"You can no longer just treat the sheep and think you're going to get the full protection period of the chemical.
"You need to be out there monitoring them."
Some of the steps to help growers manage flystrike within their flock are:
- Use a range of chemical and non chemical tools
- Know the chemical groups and rotate them where practical
- Optimise the number and timing of chemical and non-chemical treatments
- Follow the label directions and keep the treatment records
- Regularly monitor for flystrike and kill any maggots from struck sheep
