Aflatoxin: A new/old threat hits the upper Midwest

Posted on September 17, 2012 in Swine Performance
By Dr. Dean Koehler Midwestern crop farmers and livestock producers are familiar with mycotoxins such as zearalenone, deoxynivalenol (also known as DON or vomitoxin), fumonisin and T-2 toxin.  All of these toxins are produced by fusarium molds which are commonly found throughout the Corn Belt.  In some years, they are present in up to 90

A look at this year’s crop

Posted on September 4, 2012 in Swine Performance
By Todd Herrig A couple weeks ago, I attended a local crop tour that covered parts of four counties (Buena Vista, Clay, O’Brien and Cherokee) here in northwest Iowa to try and get a better idea of what we are looking at for yields in this part of the state. Here’s how it worked:  The

Managing drought-damaged corn

Posted on August 20, 2012 in Swine Performance

By Jon Feitz 
The ongoing drought has raised concerns about the potential quality of this year’s corn crop.  A heat-stressed corn crop carries a higher potential for damaged corn kernels.  This, coupled with high moisture content and high temperatures at harvest time, can lead to a higher incidence of molds and the mycotoxins they can produce.