Kate & Scott Burgess
Kate & Scott Burgess
Location: Waipahi South Otago Occupation:
Dairy Farmers - Dairy (Former sheep farm, converted six years ago)
Years in Industry: Legacy farmers, with experience
in agribusiness and animal health
Zolvix Plus: Setting up the next generation for success. Scott & Kate’s proactive approach to parasite control
Scott and Kate are in the process of taking over ownership of their family farm, navigating the complexities of roundworm parasite resistance along the way. Coming from both farming and agribusiness backgrounds, they’ve seen how limited testing and misinformation can lead to poor drenching practices in their region. With reluctance to making changes a prevailing attitude among many farmers, they believe that effective communication and education are key to tackling drench resistance before it becomes an even bigger issue.
For Scott and Kate, quarantine drenching with Zolvix Plus is non-negotiable when bringing new stock onto their farm. While they haven’t yet introduced faecal egg counting, they recognise its importance and plan to integrate it into their management plan.
Their approach is simple: start stock clean, keep them growing fast, and protect farm productivity, and they believe that good parasite control is just as critical as nutrition when it comes to hitting target live weights at first mating, and if stock don’t reach those targets, their lifetime production is compromised, impacting farm profitability.
“For us, it’s like having a big clean out. And you know that it’s going to work because of the product. We know that they’re coming in with a full clean out of worms, starting fresh. So it kind of feels like we’re giving them the best possible start to grow.
While Kate and Scott acknowledge that the cost of Zolvix Plus can be a barrier they see it as an investment, not an expense, one that prevents long term reliance on ineffective drenches. They acknowledge that best practice varies farm to farm and stress the importance of working closely with animal health experts to build an effective, tailored parasite management plan.
They also see education as key. Through self-led monthly training sessions with their team, they ensure that knowledge is shared, setting up the next generation for success. Their biggest concern? What farming will look like if anthelmintic resistance gets out of hand. Without action now, the ability to fatten stock and run profitable operations will become a much bigger challenge for the future.
Don't miss these
Michael Cammock
Implementing change to reduce risk posed by internal parasites to parasite control.
Rob O’Sullivan
The first step was cutting sheep numbers and increasing cattle to reduce parasite pressure.
Mark Guscott
Successful livestock parasite management isn’t just about numbers, it’s about observation, intuition, and adapting.
