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Corn Harvest Quality Report 2018/2019

Contents

  1. Harvest Quality Highlights
  2. Introduction
  3. Quality Test Results
  4. Moisture
  5. Chemical Composition
  6. Physical Factors
  7. Mycotoxins
  8. Crop and Weather Conditions
  9. Planting and Early Growth Conditions - Spring (April - May)
  10. Pollination and Grain Fill Conditions - Summer (June - August)
  11. Harvest Conditions (September - October +)
  12. Comparison of the 2018 Average to the 2017, 2016 and 5YA
  13. Corn Production, Usage and Outlook
  14. U.S. Corn Use and Ending Stocks
  15. Outlook
  16. Survey and Statistical Analysis Methods
  17. Survey Design and Sampling
  18. Statistical Analysis
  19. Testing Analysis Methods
  20. Corn Grading Factors
  21. Moisture
  22. Chemical Composition
  23. Physical Factors
  24. Mycotoxin Testing
  25. U.S. Corn Grades and Conversions

E. Mycotoxin Testing

Detection of mycotoxins in corn is complex. The fungi producing the mycotoxins often do not grow uniformly in a field or across a geographic area. As a result, the detection of any mycotoxin in corn, if present, is highly dependent upon the concentration and distribution of the mycotoxin among kernels in a lot of corn, whether a truck load, a storage bin or a railcar.
The objective of the FGIS sampling process is to minimize underestimating or overestimating the true mycotoxin concentration, since accurate results are imperative for corn exports. However, the objective of the 2018/2019 Corn Harvest Quality Report assessment of mycotoxins is only to report the frequency of occurrences of mycotoxins in the current crop, and not to report specific levels of mycotoxins in corn exports.

To report the frequency of occurrences of aflatoxin and DON for the 2018/2019 Corn Harvest Quality Report, IPG Lab performed the mycotoxin testing using FGIS protocol and approved test kits. FGIS’s protocol requires a minimum of a 908-gram (2-pound) sample from trucks to grind for aflatoxin testing and approximately a 200-gram sample to grind for DON testing. For this study, a 1,000-gram laboratory sample was subdivided from the 2-kg survey sample of shelled kernels for the aflatoxin analysis. The 1-kg survey sample was ground in a Romer Model 2A mill so that 60%-75% would pass a 20-mesh screen. From this well-mixed ground material, a 50-gram test portion was removed for each mycotoxin tested. EnviroLogix AQ 309 BG and AQ 304 BG quantitative test kits were used for the aflatoxin and DON analysis, respectively. The DON was extracted with water (5:1), while the aflatoxin were extracted with buffered water (3:1). The extracts were tested using the Envirologix QuickTox lateral flow strips, and the mycotoxins
were quantified by the QuickScan system.

The EnviroLogix quantitative test kits report specific concentration levels of the mycotoxin if the concentration level exceeds a specific level called a “Limit of Detection” (LOD). The LOD is defined as the lowest concentration level that can be measured with an analytical method that is statistically different from measuring an analytical blank (absence of a mycotoxin). The LOD will vary among different types of mycotoxins, test kits and commodity combinations. The LODs for the EnviroLogix AQ 309 BG and AQ 304 BG are 2.7 ppb for aflatoxin and 0.1 ppm for DON.

A letter of performance has been issued by FGIS for the quantification of aflatoxin and DON using the Envirologix AQ 309 BG and AQ 304 BG kits, respectively.