Weekly Outlook - Questions about Corn Acreage

The pace of consumption of U.S. corn has been slowing, as evidenced by small weekly exports and export sales, smaller weekly estimates of ethanol production, declining cattle feedlot placements, and increased slaughter of dairy cows and the hog breeding herd. The extent of rationing required in the current marketing year that has just begun, however, is still not clear since the size of the 2012 crop is not yet known.

The average U.S. corn yield will obviously be the most important factor in determining crop size, but the magnitude of acreage harvested for grain will also influence crop size. The likely magnitude of harvested acreage starts with the magnitude of planted acres. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) June Acreage report estimated corn acreage planted for all purposes this year at 96.4 million acres. History suggests that the final acreage estimate will deviate, at least slightly, from this estimate. In the previous 10 years, for example, the final estimate of planted acres deviated by as little as 37,000 to as much as 1.345 million acres from the June estimate.  <Read More> 

Aspergillus Ear Rot in Corn

Powdery olive-green fungal spores are characteristic of
Aspergillus ear rot

Kenny Eck, Purdue Extension Educator, Dubois County

As many of you have already heard, 2012 heat and drought conditions in our local corn crop have led to the on-set of Aspergillus ear rot and associated aflatoxins concerns for the local livestock industry. Lab tests for the mold locally have detected low levels in most samples, with mold levels expected to rapidly increase with recent rain activity in the area. Local mills and grain buyers will also be utilizing UV or “black lights” at most facilities to quickly detect to possibility of the mold in delivered corn, with some loads possibly to be diverted or stored separately at their facilities.

Recommendations are for local corn producers to harvest the crop as soon as possible at higher moistures before the mold has a chance to become well established, and then dry down the grain well below 15% (recommended 12-13%, depending on source). Drying will reduce the opportunity for additional aflatoxins to be produced, although this will not reduce current levels.  

For silage production, aflatoxins will usually remain at the levels found in the corn at time of ensilaging if the process is done correctly at the right moisture, in air-tight conditions, correctly compacted, etc.. Where corn is not correctly made into silage (too dry or too much air around chopped corn), the mold may continue to develop and raise aflatoxin levels as fermentation is slowed or fails.

Testing can be done through the Purdue Heeke ADDL lab at the Southern Indiana Purdue Ag. Center near Dubois, IN, or through numerous testing labs available through your local feed mills.

A recent AgAnswers news article addresses the topic in more detail and and additional information on the mold, testing and preventative measures can also be found in Purdue Extension Publication BP-83. 

Weekly Outlook - Pork Industry Faces Record Losses

A tsunami of red ink is about to wash across the pork industry which is facing losses unseen even in the fall of 1998 when hog prices at times approached zero value. The stressors include: more hogs than expected, rapid sow liquidation now underway, and record feed prices. Losses in the final quarter of this year could be $60 per head, exceeding the previous record quarterly losses of $45 per head in the fall of 1998.

Slaughter numbers in the past two weeks have been up six percent when only about one percent more hogs were expected. This has caused a $10 per hundredweight drop in live prices since late July, with prices now in the low-$60s. The source of those extra hogs is probably related to some delayed marketings due to the summer heat, to a desire to sell pigs more quickly before prices really tumble moving into fall, and to high sow slaughter. Projected prices for the final quarter this year are in the mid-$50s, using current lean hog futures as a base. Tragically, costs of production are expected to be above $75 per live hundredweight for the remainder of the summer, this fall, and winter.  <Read More>

Purdue Experts Remind About Proper Food Handling Amid Salmonellosis Outbreak

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University food safety experts are reminding consumers to thoroughly wash and properly store all produce in the wake of a salmonellosis outbreak in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health issued an alert Friday reporting that a salmonellosis outbreak in that state may be related to cantaloupes, specifically melons grown in southwestern Indiana. The alert said an investigation is continuing into other salmonellosis cases in Kentucky that could be related to cantaloupe and watermelon consumption. At this point, there has been no confirmation that any particular grower or growers are connected to the outbreak.

 

Haley Oliver, a Purdue food microbiologist, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises washing cantaloupes under running water with a stiff brush and refrigerating the fruit within two hours of cutting.

 

"Proper refrigeration stops the growth of Salmonella and E. coli," Oliver said. "With cantaloupe, especially, you should entirely remove the rind from the fruit since that rind has crevices and is porous."

 

Oliver said all fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed, and anyone with compromised immune systems, including children or the elderly, should cook those foods.

 

"This doesn't mean that people need to stop eating melons. Proper washing of all produce minimizes risks of foodborne illnesses," Oliver said.

 

An FDA guide to selecting and safely serving fruits and vegetables can be viewed at: http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm114299

 

Daniel Egel, a Purdue Extension plant pathologist who specializes in vegetable pathology, said that salmonella is often transferred to food through manure. He said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that manure be applied long before crops are planted, that workers wash their hands and that produce should be thoroughly washed to prevent such incidents.