Mycotoxins

Dairy farmers and other livestock producers: watch out for mycotoxins. A mycotoxin "fungus" is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by an organism of the fungus kingdom, including mushrooms, molds, and yeasts. Where conditions are right, fungi proliferate into colonies and mycotoxin levels become high. With a cool, moist summer, and a wet harvest season, mycotoxins are posing an enormous threat for all livestock producers in 2010. Here’s Alltech Western Regional manager Nick Adams: “We’ve had a very wet growing season and a late harvest, we’ve seen a lot more mold growth in the field those molds have produced mycotoxins. Understand what might be coming down the pike in terms of feed quality. We’ll see reduced feed intake, reduced feed efficiency.”

What are the symptoms of mycotoxins in your dairy herd??It's nothing that you can quite put your finger on, but..

The cows don't seem to be milking quite as well as they should be

The dung is a little loose and variable

The butterfat is a bit lower than it could be

The cell counts have crept up and the fertility seems to be getting worse

This is enormously important in Idaho’s dairy industry. Again Nick Adams: “These animals are not quite as thrifty, they do not do as well and it affects financial performance.” If you have questions, Alltech has set up a hotline at 1 866 322 3486. If you missed the number it’s on the web site aginfo.net.