Farmers could help dramatically reduce the incidence of flystrike by selecting sheep that are adapted to the environment, thus eliminating the need to treat sheep with chemicals, Esperance producer Geoff Crabb said at the recent WA Livestock Updates.
When he started farming he realised some sheep always got flyblown, while others never did.
"After splitting my mob into those that got struck and those that didn't, I soon realised I had been jetting all my sheep for the sake of a percentage," Mr Crabb said.
"If we can select those animals which are adapted to local conditions a lot of welfare issues will disappear."
Mr Crabb started selecting sheep suited to his environment on a large scale, hoping to breed and run an easy-care flock.
"The very beginning involved selecting sheep which did not get fly struck," Mr Crabb said.
"These sheep were easier to care for and easier to manage.
"After we started doing this on a large scale, we soon found it made a huge difference.
"Last year we had 30 inches of rain. None of our grown sheep were treated and losses were very minimal."
* Extract from a full report in Farm Weekly, WA, July 10 issue.
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