A farmer from Kent who entered a competition to highlight ectoparasites has won a quad bike worth £6,900. Charlie Georgetti was rewarded for his efforts in protecting his animals from blowfly, which attack sheep.
The competition worked both ways for Georgetti, as now his sheep have protection from blowfly and he has a brand new farm quad bike. The competition was run jointly by Farmers Weekly and Novantis Animal Health.
Georgetti tends the farm of 800 acres along with his wife and two sons in Cranbrook. He has more than 1,300 ewes and in excess of 100 suckler cows, so it is easy to see why farmers like him tend to be keen on farm quads.
Lambing begins at the end of March and all new-borns are treated to help prevent blowfly. If there are any lambs still around when the end of August comes, they are treated again.
Novaratis Animal Health manager Helen Langham said that the response to the competition had been great in relation to making people aware of ectoparasites such as blowfly. With recent weather being unpredictable, featuring long bursts of rain and damp weather followed by hot sunshine, the risk of blowfly has heightened. If animals become infected with blowfly it can mean death. She also went on to say that farmers should also be aware of ticks, as these too can be a huge problem in the sort of weather conditions that we have been seeing over the last couple of months. Ticks carry disease and these may affect the productivity of the flock and cause suffering.