Aflatoxin

Weather conditions may make the mold aflatoxin a threat to this year's corn crop. The impact of high levels of aflatoxin on producers varies from a discount in price to the requirement to destroy the grain crop.

Aflatoxin losses are an insurable cause of loss as long as the grain is tested before being moved into commercial or on farm storage, or the insured has arranged with the insurance provider to leave representative areas of unharvested crop from which the adjuster can obtain samples for aflatoxin testing.

Producers should notify their insurance agent if their grain is suspected of containing aflatoxin before harvesting and/or placing harvested grain into storage. Because mold can worsen in storage, losses attributed to farm storage or that cannot be determined because proper testing was not completed, are not covered under the crop insurance policy.

Following is a sample of the aflatoxin testing facilities in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. This is not a complete list and should only serve as a guide to help in researching testing facility locations. Testing facilities not listed, which meet all the following criteria, can be considered "approved testing facilities."

1. The facility must be able to perform quantitative tests on grain, itemizing results in parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb). Test kits used must be certified by the Federal Grain Inspection Service.

2. The facility must be a recognized commercial, government, or university testing lab that uses industry recognized sample sizes, equipment, and procedures for testing aflatoxin.

3. The facility must be a disinterested testing facility. A disinterested testing facility is one that is not involved in buying or selling the production in question. Refer to the Loss Adjustment Manual for more information.

Texas Corn Producers - For the 2012 and succeeding crop years, Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) may consider Office of the Texas State Chemist (OTSC) approved Texas grain elevator facilities to be approved laboratories for corn aflatoxin testing for crop insurance purposes, unless OTSC or RMA announces the suspension of OSS. The OTSC will provide a list of participating elevator facilities that are certified to test for aflatoxin on their website at the following address: Texas A&M AGRI Life

A&A Laboratories, Inc.

1100 Backus

Springdale, AR 72764

800-962-7120

Ag Lab Oklahoma State Dept. of Agriculture

2800 N. Lincoln Blvd.

Oklahoma City, OK 73105

405-521-3864

Amarillo Grain Exchange

1300 S. Johnson St.

Amarillo, TX 79101

806-372-8511

Corpus Christi Grain Exchange

PO Box 9340

Corpus Christi, TX 78408

361-289-0842

Enid Grain Inspection Co.

P.O. Box 229

Enid, OK 73702-0229

580-233-1121

Farwell Grain Inspections, Inc.

P.O. Box 488

Farwell, TX 79325-04886

806-481-9052

Oklahoma State University Disease Diagnostic Lab

P.O. Box 7001

Stillwater, OK 74076-7001

405-744-6623

Plainview Grain Inspection

1100 N. Broadway

Plainview, TX 79072

806-293-1364

SGS North America Inc.

900 Georgia Avenue

Deer Park, TX 77536

281-479-7170

Williamson County Grain

PO Box 31; 504 East Walnut

Taylor, TX 76575

512-352-6343