Two update meetings regarding fumonisin issues in corn this year and what to expect for 2018 are set for Dec. 19.
Texas Corn Producers and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host the meetings.
“These meetings will offer our farmers an opportunity to review the regulations and policies related to fumonisin and provide guidance on planning for the year ahead,” David Gibson, Texas Corn Producers executive director, said. “We want to ensure farmers have the information and resources available to adequately mitigate fumonisin risk.”
The first meeting will be from 9-11:30 a.m. at the Moore County Community Center, 1600 S. Maddox St. in Dumas. The second will be from 5:30-8 p.m. in the Castro County Expo Center, 405 S.E. 4th St. in Dimmitt.
High levels of fumonisin in corn harvested this year in the Texas Panhandle resulted in about 700 farmers, crop consultants, insurance agents and end-users attending two emergency meetings in September.
Fumonisin is a mycotoxin produced by two species of Fusarium fungi that can cause illnesses in livestock and humans, so there are regulatory limits to the amount corn can contain.
“We know that fumonisin occurrence is very dependent on weather conditions from year to year, but there are some agronomic steps producers can take to help minimize their risk,” Dr. Jourdan Bell, AgriLife Extension agronomist in Amarillo, said.
Each meeting will also include representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency to provide a crop insurance update and reports from representatives of a Lending Task Group and Marketing Task Group.
Both meetings will conclude with a question and answer session.