Weather conditions have made the fungus aflatoxin a threat to this year's corn crop, Illinois Risk Management Agency officials say. Outbreaks like the one shown here could spur some serious claims for quality losses which are harder to compensate than straight yield reductions. These particular 2012 aflatoxin-infected ears were found about 100 miles south of Kansas City.
The state RMA office has "heard of aflatoxin outbreaks, but has had no actual findings yet," Jodie Tate, deputy director for the Illinois RMA told DTN. "At this stage, we're warning people to be on alert for it."
Compensation is based on a sliding scale, depending on the level of infection. Corn that is contaminated at levels greater than 20 ppb may not be sold for interstate commerce, although most of it can find a safe use in local livestock feed following FDA guidelines. However at 300 ppb, it will need to be destroyed, Tate says.
If you think your corn has aflatoxin, notify your crop insurance agent before you harvest the grain or move it to commercial or on-farm storage. Your insurance provider will take samples for testing and submit them to an approved testing facility. Depending on the aflatoxin level present, the corn price may be discounted. Tests must be conducted by independent third parties, not by the grower.
If your crops test positive, just don't expect to receive dollar-for-dollar compensation for what your grain buyer discounts. In 1988, when aflatoxin infected much of the Illinois crop, some elevator chains docked identical grain $2.50 per bu. and others only 15 cents. RMA guidelines treat crop quality losses as an adjustment to yield, but "they don't always pay growers for what they get deducted for," RMA officials told DTN in 2009, after outbreaks of white mold affected crops and growers filed numerous crop insurance quality claims.
"The government tries to keep thing on balance of what the grain is really worth," the official added at the time.
What's a farmer to do? "My advice is to pretend it is a Chicago vote and if you suspect aflatoxin to report early and often," a crop insurance company rep tells me. "Claims require preharvest inspection and farmers pay for the test. But the grower risk is putting their grain in on-farm storage as that alflatoxin growth is their risk to wear."
For an Iowa State University fact sheet on aflatoxin go to http://www.extension.iastate.edu/?
For a description of how RMA handles quality losses, go to http://www.rma.usda.gov/?)
For Illinois fact sheets on aflatoxin and insurance coverage during drought, go to http://www.rma.usda.gov/?
Follow me on Twitter@MarciaZTaylor.
? Copyright 2012 DTN/The Progressive Farmer, A Telvent Brand. All rights reserved.
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