Last year was a season which tried producers? souls. Too wet in northern Iowa, to dry in the south. In December we talked with Iowa State University?s Dr. Charles Hurburgh about grain quality issues. Now, this grain has entered the livestock feed supply and Dr. Hurburgh is back to talk about it.
Audio: Iowa State’s Dr. Charles Hurburgh on vomitoxin levels in feed
Dr. Charles Hurburgh says there have been some levels of vomitoxin showing up in corn from 2018. It is equating to about one part per million.
Dr. Hurburgh says one part per million may not sound like much. However, if you are feeding grain to hogs, one part per million is the maximum threshold. This means hog producers need to be vigilant.
If you are feeding Dry Distiller?s Grains (DDG?s), you need to be even more cautious. This byproduct of ethanol production is perfectly safe to feed livestock but concentrates the levels of vomitoxin three to one. So, if the corn used in the production of ethanol contained one part per million of vomitoxin, the DDG?s will contain three parts per million.
Dr. Hurburgh says ethanol plants can give you a certification of the DDG quality you are getting. All you have to do is ask.
Hurburgh says hogs are on the low end of the spectrum. Other livestock, such as cattle, can process larger amounts of affected grain. Sometimes as much as 20 or 30 parts per million. This means other livestock should not have any issues with the corn we produced.
Hurburgh says if you are suspecting your grain may be susceptible to vomitoxin, the best thing to do is have it tested. The first thing you need to do is get a 10-pound sample. Hurburgh recommends that it come from areas throughout the bin, in order to get a representative sample. The best place to check all your grain testing options is to log on to IowaGrain.org.
