2012
LOGA
N COUNTY FARM OUTLOOK MAGAZINE. LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com October 23, 2012
14
INSURANCE: How will the ag
industry fare with this drought?
2
012
was certainly a very dry year
for crop production. The lack
of rain has affected everyone,
with farmers experiencing the drought
firsthand. According to John Peters of
the local Farm Services Agency office,
thedrought will affect the agriculture
industry in multiple ways.
The question that is likely
on everyone’s mind: Just how
many crops will be lost this year
because of the drought?
“
Variability is likely to be very high
this year,” said Peters, referring
to crop yields across the county.
From the early start of harvest,
fieldswereyieldingdifferentamounts.
Final averages were anticipated to be
extremely low in Logan County. In late
September, still weeks before all fields
would be in, Peters speculated that the
percentage of crops lost this year would
probably be at least 30 percent, possibly
even closer to 50 percent.
According to the National Agricultural
Statistics Survey, or NASS, in the last five
years Logan County has produced an
average of 181 bushels per acre in corn.
But the drought is not only drying the
crops out. Such a dry heat provides a
perfect environment for aflatoxin to grow
and spread.
Aflatoxin is a fungus that grows on crops.
Host crops are particularly susceptible to
the infection of aflatoxin under dry, hot
conditions. In other words, the drought of
2012
provided the perfect climate for
aflatoxin levels to rise.
“
A lot of the farmers are hauling
their corn straight to the elevators
because of the aflatoxin,” said
Peters.
Normally, corn may be stored in
bins before it is taken to an elevator.
However, since aflatoxin will naturally
spread in a bin, storage has not been a
feasible option.
The FDA limit on aflatoxin is 20 parts
per billion for corn that can still enter the
market. Depending on the toxin levels
found, some loads rejected at the elevator
can still be used for animal feed so long as
they do not exceed certain levels:
•
Corn for lactating dairy animals may not
exceed 20 ppb.
•
Corn for breeding beef, dairy cattle,
breeding swine or mature poultry cannot