Source: AgriLife Today
Corn farmers worried about fumonisin contamination in their fields need to immediately contact their crop insurance agent – that was the message from two emergency meetings held Sept. 27 in the Texas High Plains.
The potential for fumonisin contamination in corn fields throughout the region prompted about 700 farmers, crop consultants, insurance agents and end-users to pack Dimmitt and Dumas meetings conducted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Corn Producers.
More than 50 percent of the corn grown in Texas comes from the High Plains region. The primary market for this corn is the cattle feeding industry, and according to the latest “The Impact of Agribusiness Texas High Plains,” it accounts for about $635 million in annual sales in the region.
Fumonisins are toxins produced by two species of Fusarium fungi, according to Dr. Tom Isakeit, AgriLife Extension plant pathologist, College Station. Fumonisins are mycotoxins that can cause illnesses in livestock, especially horses, so there are regulatory limits to the amounts a load of corn can contain.
Learn more about fumonisin guidance levels set by FDA and regulated by the OTSC, along with the potential effects on various animal species.
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