Welcome to the very first My Block Hand Bulletin. Each week we'll share practical ideas for running a healthier, more enjoyable lifestyle block, along with updates on what we're building in My Block Hand.
🌱 This week at Red Ants Farm
Rethinking the drench gun.
This week I've been thinking a lot about drenching and drench resistance. Like many lifestyle block owners, my first instinct is to treat every animal in a mob and set a reminder to repeat the treatment. The more I learn, the more I realise that good parasite management is about much more than simply reaching for the drench gun.
That conversation has already started shaping future features in My Block Hand.
🐑 This week's topic
Why drench resistance matters — and what to do about it.
Every time worms are exposed to a drench, the most susceptible worms die while any worms with natural resistance are more likely to survive and reproduce. Over many generations this can make drenches less effective.
Good parasite management is about more than treating animals more often. It includes:
- Only treating animals that genuinely need treatment.
- Growing young stock well with good nutrition.
- Managing grazing to reduce worm challenge.
- Monitoring stock closely instead of relying on guesswork.
- Keeping accurate treatment records.
Good records don't just tell you what happened yesterday — they help you make better decisions next season and ultimately breed more resilient animals.
📖 Further reading
For more detailed information, Beef + Lamb New Zealand's Wormwise programme has an excellent article on drench resistance.
🛠️ What we're building
A lifetime history for every animal.
This week's discussions have inspired a new direction for My Block Hand. We're working towards giving every animal a simple lifetime history where you can record treatments, weights, health observations and important notes in one place.
The goal is that when you're standing in the paddock trying to decide whether to drench an animal, you can pull up its record and see exactly what has happened to it — and make a better call because of it.