reduce serious losses and avoid crisis. Decisions on handling moldy grain should be made before it is harvested. After harvest, spoilage can occur quickly if delays result from indecision.
• The field should be harvested as soon as moisture content reaches a level that can be harvested. Even if some drying costs are incurred, this will be less expensive than loss of crop value due to mycotoxins and resulting feeding problems.
Grain Treatments:
• Antifungal treatments can be applied to grain to reduce mold growth in storage. These products, such as proprionic acid, do not kill the mold already present nor do they reduce toxins already present in the grain. Do not use antifungal agents on stored grain unless you are certain the grain can be marketed after treatment.
• Hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS) (Novasil) can reduce the effects of aflatoxins when fed to swine, cattle, or poultry. HSCAS at 10 lb./ton provides substantial protection against dietary aflatoxins.
Testing for Mycotoxins:
Testing for mycotoxins should be considered when signs of potential effects on performance and health exist and cannot be readily explained. This is particularly important when moldy feeds are being fed or when marked changes in production or health have occurred among a relatively large proportion of animals.
• The presence of a fungus known to produce toxins is not proof that the grain contains injurious levels of toxin, it may be a good investment to collect a representative sample and send it to a laboratory for chemical analysis.
• The first step in mycotoxin determination is sampling of the grain. Particular attention should be given to the sampling procedure because sampling error will be the greatest source of variation in the analytical
procedure. This variation is primarily due to the uneven distribution of the mycotoxin contaminated kernels within a lot of grain or feed. The ideal sampling procedure should assure the highest probability of detecting mycotoxins even when contamination is low.
• One method of sampling grain is to use a probe sampler. Since mold growth usually occurs in spots in the grain lot, best sampling is done on recently blended lots of grain.
• Another method is to collect small samples from the moving stream of grain as it is moved in or out of the bins. With both sampling methods, the collected grain is pooled into a large aggregate sample that represents the lot.
• A number of commercial, university and government laboratories perform mycotoxin analysis for a fee. Contact the lab to determine the proper way to obtain and ship the sample. For general information see:(
http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/ ohiofieldcropdisease/wheat/mycotoxin%20
text2.htm).
• Blending is not an approved practice by the FDA for interstate commerce. Blending is a practice intended to reduce toxins to acceptable levels in small lots only for on farm use.
• If the mycotoxin in the contaminated feed is known, it may be a good idea to channel the feed to animals that are more tolerant.
38 TEXAS LONGHORN JOURNAL i NOVEMBER 2017
Alleviation of Mold and Mycotoxin Problems
Performance and the cattle’s health will often return to normal after the infected feed has been removed, or the intake is reduced. Some steps should be taken in order to help the process:
1. Clean moldy grains and remove grains that might have mycotoxins.
2. Test the ration or most of its components for mycotoxins. Consider testing the cattle to help eliminate other possible causes of the adverse effects.
3. Stop use of moldy feed. If symptoms are present, discontinue or severely restrict use of feeds that test positive for mycotoxins especially those other than aflatoxin.
Kent Feeds offers mycotoxin adsorbent in Dynasty® and Granolene® equine products; Kent Integral™ 40 for multi-species equine, cattle, poultry, and swine; FeverGuard® MTB- 100® for dairy; and several custom order products. The effective level of mycotoxin adsorbent in the product is dependent on the feed consumption of the product.
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