MANAGING AFLATOXIN IN CORN
SCOTT AVERHOFF, CHAIRMAN
DAVID GIBSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OUR EXPERIENCES
• 1998 AS ELEVATOR MANAGER• 1998 AS GROWER• MEMBER OF STATE CHEMIST ADVISORY
BOARD• 2005 EXPERIENCES WITH RMA• EXPERIENCES WITH INSURANCE
COMPANIES• $0.25 PER BUSHEL CORN
PRE-HARVEST
• MANAGE CROP TO REDUCE STRESS• USE BIO-CONTROLS, AKA
ATOXIGENICS– SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE AFLATOXIN
CONTAMINATION BY COMPETITIVE DISPLACEMENT OF AFLATOXIN-PRODUCING STRAINS
LABELED PRODUCTS
• AFLA-GUARD® A SYNGENTA® PRODUCT
• AF 36 – ARIZONA COTTON RESEARCH AND PROTECTION COUNCIL– NOT LABELED IN OKLAHOMA
• BOTH PRODUCTS HAVE SHOWN CONSISTENT EFFICACY
• MUST BE APPLIED AS A PREVENTATIVE
POST-HARVEST
• ERRATIC TEST RESULTS• PRIMARY CAUSE MOST LIKELY DUE TO
ERRATIC DISTRIBUTION OF AFLATOXIN IN A GIVEN LOT OF CORN
• SAMPLING– MAINTAIN RATIO OF FINES/WHOLE GRAIN
• CLEANING EQUIPMENT BETWEEN SAMPLES• IS TEST CALIBRATED FOR LEVEL
IDENTIFIED?• GRIND WHOLE SAMPLE/MIX THOROUGHLY
GROWERS ACTIONSAT HARVEST
• FIELD TEST• CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE AGENT IF
YOU THINK YOU HAVE A PROBLEM• YOUR INSURANCE AGENT HAS TO TURN
EVERYTHING OVER TO CLAIMS ADJUSTOR• BE CAUTIOUS OF LEAVING FIELD STRIPS• BE CAUTIOUS OF RANDOM EAR SAMPLING• AGENT IS REMOVED FROM THE
SETTLEMENT PROCESS
BE AWARE OF…
• HIGH NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES• MOISTURE EVENTS AT HARVEST• SAMPLE COLLECTION• TYPE OF TEST EQUIPMENT• CLEANLINESS OF TEST THROUGHOUT
PROCESS• HOW SAMPLES ARE STORED AND
TRANSPORTED, IF TESTING IS DONE AT ANOTHER LOCATION
HARVEST TESTING
• OFFICE OF THE STATE CHEMIST (OTSC) ONE TEST STRATEGY, ACCEPTED BY RMA, REGULATORY AND BUYING ENTITY
• HTTP://OTSCWEB.TAMU.EDU/RISK/ONESAMPLE
• ADOPTED DUE TO OTSC, TCPB AND TEXAS FARM BUREAU EFFORTS
• BENEFITS GROWERS BY MATCHING REGULATORY SAMPLES WITH BUYER AND CROP INSURANCE
• BENEFITS ELEVATORS BY MATCHING THEIR SAMPLES WITH REGULATORY SAMPLES
HOW IT WORKS
• OTSC CERTIFIES WITH BUYING POINT• TRAINS WORKERS ON SAMPLING• TRAINS WORKERS ON TESTING• VERIFY SCALE• VERIFY TEST USED FOR ACCURACY• SENDS SAMPLES FOR CALIBRATING
TEST• GETS TEST FROM FACILITY TO VERIFY
TEST
TEXAS ANALYSIS
FUTURE
• WE CURRENTLY HAVE SOME OKLAHOMA MEMBERS IN THE CORN PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS
• AVAILABLE, AS NEEDED, TO ASSIST GROWERS
• BUYERS• RMA/CROP INSURANCE• SOURCE OF MATERIALS AND
INFORMATION• REGULATIONS/REGULATORY AGENCY
CONTACT INFORMATION
• SCOTT AVERHOFF– [email protected]
• DAVID GIBSON– [email protected]
• WWW.TEXASCORN.ORG• 806.763.2676