.STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSES MOUTH

Duane A. Lienemann,
 UNL Extension Educator,
Webster County
September 1, 2012 Edition

With the corn harvest only 6 percent complete in the United States, the world's largest corn producer and exporter, it's too soon to know whether a potential problem for corn producers, aflatoxin, will be a significant problem. However, we must be proactive with this issue. Aflatoxin is the byproduct of a powdery, olive-green mold that has emerged in corn fields across the Corn Belt, including Nebraska, and South Central Nebraska is not immune. There are many things that we need to be concerned with and most importantly to our area, in that this tainted corn can be fatal to livestock and most of our corn is destined for that purpose. I know that a lot of producers are worried as they see molds of all sorts out in their fields, but I do want to remind people though that the presence of the mold does not necessarily lead to aflatoxin.
Aflatoxin, caused by the Aspergillus fungus, develops on crops stressed by severe heat and drought as well as a potential vector resulting from the work of ear worm. It is most commonly found in the southern United States and typically, the heart of the Corn Belt, which tends to benefit from cooler summers and ample rains, is spared from aflatoxin. But given the worst Midwest drought in 56 years, this year is different. I don’t think people in this part of the country well argue that. The USDA - Risk Management Agency, which oversees crop insurance programs, warns that insured farmers who suspect their fields might have aflatoxin must contact their agents before they harvest the grain to receive compensation. So I must reiterate my suggestion that you go walk through your fields, take some samples and investigate whether or not you might have the potential for aflatoxin in your corn and then make plans accordingly.
If you intend to sell grain at harvest for cash, or without a contract, you have very little legal protection from the grain being rejected. Buyers are under no obligation to buy the grain and without a contract; the buyer is not bound to any predetermined grade standards. Even the smallest amount of aflatoxin in a load of grain could cause it to be rejected. Just putting in a bin and hoping the problem will go away is not a solution as this mold will keep multiplying, especially in storage conditions. You might put grain in the bin at under 20 ppb which many elevators will take, and next year when you think you can market it, it could well be over 300 ppb which nobody will take and it will then need to be destroyed.
I have already field a number of questions related to crop insurance and claims related to aflatoxin in this year’s corn crop. My standard answer is that if aflatoxin is suspected and the grower has crop insurance, the crop insurance agent should be contacted immediately, i.e. prior to harvest. The crop insurance agent should be able to give directions on how to proceed in establishing if aflatoxin is a problem in the field and the process to document damage and initiate claims. But again….this needs to be done before the crop is harvested, put the grain in storage; or before you deliver it for sale. The Risk Management Agency’s web site explains at:  http://www.rma.usda.gov/fields/ks_rso/2012/aflatoxintesting.pdf . Additional information concerning aflatoxin and other grain fungal diseases may be found on the web at:
 http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1800.pdf .      and   http://archive.gipsa.usda.gov/pubs/mycobook.pdf
My guess is that crop producers are/will be receiving notices from their crop insurance agents nd the RMA concerning levels of aflatoxin in harvested grain. During drought, as I indicated earlier, the potential for aflatoxin increases, thus putting the producer’s insurance policy at risk. Basically the impact of high levels of aflatoxin varies from a discount in price to the requirement to destroy the grain. Your insurance provider will likely take samples for testing and then submit them to an approved RMA aflatoxin testing facility. You must remember however that because aflatoxin can worsen in storage, aflatoxin losses are only insurable if the grain is tested at an approved testing facility before being moved into commercial or on-farm storage; or your insurance provider asks you to leave representative sample areas of the un-harvested crop for taking samples for testing.
Losses not covered under the crop insurance policy include losses due to increases in the aflatoxin level while in farm storage and also losses that cannot be determined because proper testing was not completed. You must also realize that there are required criteria for approved testing facilities and must be certified by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) and must be able to perform quantitative tests on grain, itemizing results in parts per million (ppm) and parts per billion (ppb). It may interest you that the compensation for infected grain runs on a sliding scale; however, corn that is contaminated at levels greater than 20 ppb (parts per billion) may not be sold for interstate commerce. It may be fed to livestock – so long as FDA guidelines on blending are followed.
Any grain at 300 ppb or greater must be destroyed. It is critical that testing occur before grain is placed in storage, as federal crop insurance will not cover losses occurring in storage. Testing after placing grain in storage could result in invalidating claims for aflatoxin. For grain having aflatoxin that is delivered and sold to a commercial source, the discount factor will be based on the reduction-in-value. In calculating yield for crop insurance purposes, the result of the discount factor subtracted from 1.000 is multiplied by actual yield to determine yield to count in guarantee comparisons.
I certainly hope we don’t find any aflatoxins in our fields around here, but as I indicated in last week’s column, there certainly is the potential and high possibility. Corn producers can do themselves a favor by checking for mold today!

The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at:  www.webster.unl.edu/home