LAND based training provider, Lowe Maintenance, has launched a new Safe Use of Sheep Dip course taking place online.

The City & Guilds-accredited course is a one-day blended session, taught via video along with a detailed workbook, and assessed face-to-face in Settle.

Managing director of Lowe Maintenance, Demelza Lowe, said: “We appreciate that sheep farmers and contractors are really squeezed for time. We also know that there’s recently been a significant rise in sheep scab. To help, we developed a course that can be studied remotely, even on a mobile phone, with only a short face-to-face assessment.”

To legally purchase organophosphate (OP) sheep dip, a Safe Use of Sheep Dip Certificate of Competence is required. OP dips are an effective treatment against a wide range of ectoparasites, such as sheep scab, ticks, lice, keds and blow fly.

To become a qualified sheep dip operator, candidates need to pass both a multiple choice exam and a practical assessment. Passing the course eliminates complacency at every stage of the dipping process.

With over 16 years in land-based training and forestry course provision, Lowe Maintenance has developed a range of courses to be more accessible.