Quality News
Fusarium In Spring Wheat
Fusarium head blight is showing up in early-seeded spring wheat fields. "We are starting to see it show up again in the early-seeded fields," says Mike Grenier, agronomist with the Canadian Wheat Board. He notes most fields that were seeded in the early part of May, or earlier, have been sprayed. Growers are now deciding whether or not to spray the later-seeded fields. Read more of this story here at pembinavalleyonline.com <http://www.pembinavalleyonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17626&Itemid=52>
Reports Of Hot Spots In Bins Of Stored Corn Are Increasing
The wet conditions of the 2009 corn harvest presented challenges for farmers and those difficulties still have not come to an end. This spring farmers in Iowa with corn stored in bins are being warned by Iowa State University grain quality expert Charles Hurburgh to check those bins once a week for signs of problems.
A farmer in Marshall County in central Iowa said his corn was just fine two weeks ago when he check his bins. But earlier this week he re-checked the bins and found a hot spot. The then got busy and rushed to move the corn—selling it before the damage got worse. It wasn't bad but it was heating up pretty fast and would deteriorate quickly if left in the bin.
"We are hearing about more of those situations every week as the weather warms up outside," says Hurburgh. Because the harvest was so unique last fall, farmers were doing things that they hadn't done in a long time. Harvesting corn a lot later, and at higher moistures and some of it had disease in it. Because of that, there is the potential for some problems to develop.
Read more of this story here http://mobile.wallacesfarmer.com/index.aspx?
Serious Grain Storage Problems Could Lurk Undetected
Richard Stroshine has warned everyone who would listen about the potential problems of the current crop in storage since early last fall. Part of the problem was corn containing moulds and toxins. But even in areas where that wasn't as much of an issue, he's warned people about grain that came in very wet, that may have been of lower quality than usual, and that may not have been dried properly.
Stroshine, The Purdue University grain quality specialist, reiterated those concerns this week. Reports that he and others in the industry are hearing indicate that farmers are talking about checking grain and finding 20% moisture corn in storage. That raises a flag on several levels.
First, the fungi that caused mycotoxins, primarily vomitoxin or DON and zearalonone, can still multiply and grow at 20% moisture. Evidence indicates they do not grow if grain is 19% or less and cool, Stroshine says. At 20% other spoilage problems can also become an issue, because other fungi that can be present in stored grain can also grow. Read more of this story here
Harvest and export quality reports on Canadian grain brought to you by the CGC
