LEXINGTON, Ky. — Corn producers already wrestling with massive supplies and low prices now have another headache.

 

Numerous cases of vomitoxin, a plant toxin which can cause illness in livestock and humans, has been discovered some U.S. corn harvested from last year, which is forcing poultry and pork framers to test their grain. Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, and parts of Iowa and Michigan are states which have currently been infected, but the full impact isn’t known.

 

The mycotoxin occurs predominantly in grains such as wheat, barley, oats, rye and corn. “There are several vomitoxins in corn which are the result of fungal infections.

 

They’re all natural, but they’re lethal,” said Chad Lee, director of the Grains Center of Excellence at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “To see them in those states is an anomaly; that doesn’t normally show it, especially at that level.”

 

Vomitoxin was discovered in 1928 with another outbreak in 1966, but was first isolated in 1973 by researchers at the USDA after an unusually wet winter in the Midwest. The researchers coined its name after observing its symptoms in livestock.

 

In the most recent outbreak, a considerable share of corn tested in Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana since last fall’s harvest have reported levels high enough to be considered too toxic for humans, pets, hogs, chickens and dairy cattle. 

 

In Indiana, 40 of 92 counties had at least one load of corn harvested test positive for vomitoxin, according to the Office of Indiana State Chemists’ county survey. In 2014 and 2015, this did not exceed four counties.

 

The primary culprit stems from heavy rains before and during the 2016, which saw a record crop. The sheer size of last year’s harvest prompted farmers to store grain on the ground and other improvised spaces, which caused further issues with moisture.

 

“Storing it wet or not getting it dried properly are issues that can make it worse,” explained Lee. “A wet harvest can make it worse, especially if you have difficulty getting crops out of the fields – you tend to have more issues that will show up.”

 

The USDA allows vomitoxin levels of up to 1 part per million (ppm) in human and pet foods and recommends levels under 5 ppm in grain for hogs and 10 ppm for chickens and dairy cattle. Beef cattle can generally withstand levels up to 30 ppm.

 

Reuters reported that Smithfield Foods, Inc., the world’s largest pork producer, had allegedly ordered a shipment of corn from Paraguay to meet its demands, as opposed to risking purchasing grain from states with outbreaks of vomitoxin.

 

Livestock producers are not the only ones with cause for concern. Ethanol manufacturers are also feeling the impact. 

 

Since the outbreak, many plants are testing nearly every load of corn they receive. The contamination is also lessening demand for distillers dried grains (DDGs), a byproduct of ethanol sold as animal feed.

 

“When you’re making ethanol, a third of it goes to making alcohol and a third goes to DDGs, and the vomitoxins will stay with the DDG process,” Lee explained.

 

“You actually elevate the concentration of mycotoxins in DDGs, and you can’t feed that to livestock if that’s above the threshold.”