Mycotoxins are among the most harmful pollutants of grain and forage crops, and can cause lasting damage to dairy animals of all ages. Dairyland Laboratories, Inc. of Arcadia, Wis. provides screening service for 17 different toxins in corn silage and corn grain.
The threat of mycotoxins varies from year to year based on growing season conditions, crop storage methods, and other factors. Although Dairyland Labs processes thousands of mycotoxin screenings per year, they said it is difficult to draw conclusions about mycotoxins in corn silage because:
- Customers submit samples because they suspect a problem, so the samples they process are not representative of the total corn silage harvest.
- Across a wide enough geography, the distribution of mycotoxin contamination almost never changes.
- Across a narrow enough geography, there are almost never enough samples to draw statistically defensible conclusions.
Nonetheless, producers and nutritionists are curious about results. So, with those caveats in place, Dairyland Labs offered the following snapshot of mycotoxin results for the 2022 harvest:
- 92% of corn silage samples contained vomitoxin (DON) compared to 85% the previous two years.
- 81% of corn grain samples contained vomitoxin (DON) compared to 64% the previous two years.
- Median values of vomitoxin counts also increased for both crops.
To simplify utilization of their mycotoxin reports, the lab provides the reports in graphical form. These graphs allow users to quickly assess which toxins are present in their samples; determine whether the amounts are normal or extreme; and check how close they are to total ration limits.
