Ivomec® Super celebrates 30th anniversary with competition

Manufactured by Merial Animal Health, now part of Boehringer Ingelheim, and launched in 1987, Ivomec Super was the first combination endectocide to contain ivermectin and clorsulon.

It provided cattle farmers with unique benefits, including effective control of a wide range of worm species, adult stages of the liver fluke parasite, and important external parasites, with the low-volume dose rate of 1ml/50kg by subcutaneous injection.

Over 43 million doses have been sold across the UK and Ireland in the past 17 years1 alone, and cattle farmers continue to trust Ivomec Super with 2,789,360 doses sold in 20161.

The 30th anniversary of Ivomec Super will be marked by a celebration of cattle farming. A competition to identify the best success stories from the UK and Ireland’s livestock farming businesses was launched at Beef Expo on 18 May at the NAEC, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.

Entries can be made online through the competition website: www.ivomecsuper30.vettimes.co.uk.

Entries close July 14th, 2017.

Clyde Valley cattle farmer William Purdon, of Andrew Purdon and Partners, has included Ivomec Super in his herd management programme for the past 20 years.

The 50 year old family run farm in the Clyde Valley, Scotland, delivers a throughput of between 1,100 and 1,200 mainly store cattle a year, supplying London and Edinburgh-based butchers as well as Scottish meat wholesalers McDuff Beef.

He had previously tried other worm and fluke products but was so convinced of the difference he saw in his cattle after using Ivomec Super that he has stuck with the brand ever since.

He says: “We do buy the healthiest stock we can, but all are dosed with Ivomec Super before joining the rest of the herd. I like to buy them good and sell them better.

“The stock have been a lot cleaner, with less liver damage and in better condition at slaughter since we started using Ivomec Super. It does a great job for us and I wouldn’t change now.”

Mathieu Maignan, Ivomec Super Product Manager, explains that Ivomec Super was a game changer when it was launched 30 years ago.

This was particularly evident in the South West of England, where liver fluke was causing significant issues for beef production; an issue that has since spread eastwards, affecting cattle UK-wide.

“When Ivomec Super was launched in 1987, cattle farmers were already benefitting from the availability of ivermectin, which revolutionised worm control.

“When Merial added the flukicide clorsulon to the formulation and presented it as an injectable product, it made farmer’s lives so much easier.

“The main route of administration for treatment of cattle for fluke and worms in the 1980s was orally, using a drench.

“However, drenching could be difficult and many farms lacked crushes to effectively control animals. Medicine could easily be spilled or incomplete doses given.

“The low-dose, single-site injection offered by Ivomec Super helped to resolve this issue.

“Furthermore, cattle did not require housing during or after treatment with Ivomec Super. As an injectable, it could be administered in any weather, unlike alternative topical treatments.

“We know there are many successful livestock farming businesses like William Purdon’s across the UK and Ireland. We look forward to reading and celebrating those stories as the competition runs. The winners will be announced later in the year.”