According to UNEP, poisonings from industrial and agricultural chemicals are among the top five leading causes of death worldwide, contributing to more than a million deaths every year. “Certain chemicals restrict and interfere in human development and can impair both physical and mental growth, as well as ability to learn.”[1] That over 600 NGOs exist today for the purpose of campaigning against the use/misuse of chemical pesticides is a clear indication of a growing worldwide concern that these chemicals indeedpose severe danger to man and the environment.
Pest and infection burden robs our citizens engaged in agriculture and the larger economy vital revenues. Fungi are ubiquitous plant pathogens that are major spoilage agents of foods and feedstuffs.[2]Fungal infection and contamination of stored foods has been well documented. That close to 40% of crops are lost due to some kind of pests before harvest and some 10% post harvest[3] should indeed be of serious concern. Reports from Nigeria[4] indicate that over 50% of yam tubers produced and harvested in Nigeria are lost in storage. Sometimes in October 2014, about 500 hectres of potato farmland was massively attacked by a potato blight disease in Plateau State.”[5]Just recently tomato farmers across several states in Nigeria suffered severe losses running into several billions of Naira, as a result of the Tuta absoluta disease. Several rice farmers from different states have equally called out for help, as a result of pests devastation.
Available control measures have not only proved inadequate and unsustainable, but have worsened the already appalling disease burden and led to further degradation of our environment. For example,the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are between 10,000-20,000 occupational pesticide poisonings annually in the United States of America. The WHO further estimates that pesticides contribute up to 1million deaths globally with developing countries like Nigeria bearing a disproportionate share. Authorities in Nigeria report that pesticide poisoning causes about 3million acute food poisoning and over 20,000 deaths in Nigeria annually. According to a U.N. report, “The potential cost of pesticide-related illnesses in sub-Saharan African between 2005 and 2020 could reach $90 billion.” The estimated cost of pesticide poisoning exceeds the total amount of international aid for basic health services for the region.[6]How dire can the situation possibly get? “Until safe pesticides are developed and made affordable for occupational use, workers will continue to be exposed to potentially harmful chemicals.”[7]Children are at even more higher risk because far lower concentrations of chemicals will trigger adverse health effects. “Pollution and disease related to the unsustainable use, production and disposal of chemicals can, in fact, hinder progress towards key development targets by affecting water supplies, food security, well-being or worker productivity.”[8]
Many NGOs areinvolved in a global campaign for policies and standards that ensure “chemicals are used only in ways that preserve the health of communities and protect the integrity of the environment for present and future generations”.[9] This would include a ban on those substances deemed highly hazardous.
“Pesticide” is an umbrella term that includes many kinds of chemicals, natural and synthetic. A pesticide is any substance intended to control, destroy, repel, or attract a pest. Any living organism that causes damage, economic loss, transmits or produces disease may be the target pest.[10] Some of the most common pesticides include insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, molluscicides, fungicides, repellents, disinfectants and sanitizers.[11]
Pesticides are toxic by design – they are BIOCIDES, designed to kill, reduce or repelinsects, weeds, rodents, fungi or other organisms that can threaten public health and theeconomy.[12]
WHAT ARE THE USES OF PESTICIDES?
- Crop-protection: it is reported that close to 40% of crops are lost due to some kind of pests before harvest and some 10% after it. Pesticides have played and continue play a big role in the agricultural industry.[13]
- Non-crop protection: forestry, gardening, leisure, industrial pest control, residential, animal health and pet products.
- Food preservation
- Material preservation
- Disease control
PESTICIDE USE IN AGRICULTURE
Pesticide use in agriculture dates back to the 1940s. Although pesticides can be beneficial in boosting food production, “yet many times their detrimental effects outweigh the positive ones”.Use of pesticides tends to be more intense and unsafe in developing countries, whereregulatory; health and education systems are weaker.[14] Their usage requires thorough knowledge, stringent regulation and strict compliance with strenuous safety measures. These fundamentals are often lacking in the developing countries. Pesticides can be extremely hazardous to the human body and other living organisms, as they are designed to be a poison.“The more chemicals you use, the more risk of exposure due to application and the more risk of contamination and exposure of Nigerians to the harmful effects of chemicals.”[15]Currently an estimated 3.2 million tones[16] of pesticides are used each year.
The farmers face a predicament because pest and fungi infections are of serious concern. With about 50% of crops losses, our farmers face very difficult problem. In an attempt to address these challenges several potentially harmful pesticides (fungicides) have been unleashed on our environment with little or no control measures, leaving the citizens’ health and the overall environment worse-off. With over 70% of Nigeria’s workforce engaged in agriculture, many of whom are illiterates, who cannot read product labels or instructions, abuse is certainly the order of the day, and the consequences (health, environment and the economy) are simply dreadful.
RECOMMENDATIONS
We strongly recommend that a National Pesticide Strategybe put in place urgently in order to address all concerns relating to pesticide importation, production, storage and usage. Some of the major areas to be addressed include:
- Evaluation of health impacts of pesticides through risk assessment and illness surveillance. Comprehensive assessments of pesticide risks to all populations (workers, children, other sensitive groups) from exposure via air, water, and food, and in the home and workplace. All reported pesticide-related illnesses should be well investigated and data should be used to evaluate its regulatory program and to fine-tune safety rules.
- Monitoring potential health and environmental impacts of previously registered pesticides, helping find ways to prevent future contamination.
- Residue testing of fresh fruit and vegetables, sampling domestic and imported produce from wholesale and retail outlets, distribution centers, and farmers markets.
- Through grants, awards and regulatory incentives, the government should support development and adoption of pest management practices designed to encourage reductions in chemical pesticide use in favour of more natural pest controls, and to reduce or eliminate harmful environmental and health impacts of chemical pesticides.
SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
It is no secret that the world is going “GREEN” now in as many products and processes as possible, and the reasons have been well enumerated. So much is at stake and failure to act quickly enough only exacerbates the situation.
- Rating/Grading of pesticide brands based on toxicological data
- Greater emphasisor preference for safer, organic pesticides
- Stronger support for local production of organic pesticides
- Stricter restriction or possible ban of highly toxic pesticides that have already been banned in other countries (especially in Europe)
- Licensing of Applicators of toxic synthetic pesticides
- Demand for greater accountability by importers/manufacturers of toxic pesticides
- Promotion of integrated pest management (IPM) approach
- Proactive pest control/management approach should be pursued rather than the present reactive approach
- Adoption of advanced pest control technologies
- Increased Budgetary provision for agricultural disease monitoring and control
Suffice to say that leaving highly toxic pesticides in the hands of ignorant farmers only creates an even worse problem than the pest infestation. The use and/or misuse of synthetic pesticides is affecting not only the environment, but also the sources of water, biodiversity and most importantly people’s health. Providing sustainable “green” alternatives is a global objective. Nigeria cannot afford to be left out because the consequences could be even more terrifying.
Companies/organizations engaged in the manufacture of this needed sustainable alternatives to CHEMICAL PESTICIDES/FUNGICIDES/ DISINFECTANTS should be massively supported by the Government.
PATRICK ONWULIRI
P_onwuliri@yahoo.com
[1] UNEP
[2] Atanda et al
[3]Innovative Pesticides are What the World Needs Agranova. CCM China: Crop Protection Summit. March 2011.
[4] Onayemi, 1983
[5] The Eagle Online: “Blight Attacks 500 hectares of potato farms in Plateau” – Commissioner
[6] www.unep.org
[7] www.bulldoglawyers.com/legal-services
[8] UNEP
[9] www.pan-uk.org
[10]www.cdpr.ca.gov
[11] ibid
[12] WHO
[13]Innovative Pesticides are What the World Needs Agranova. CCM China: Crop Protection Summit. March 2011.
[14] ibid
[15] The Guardian
[16] EPA
R-Biopharm held Mycotoxin, microbiology workshop in Lagos
A 2 day workshop on detection of mycotoxins , allergens and microbiology in foods was held at the Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja Lagos on Wednesday and Thursday 7 and 8 September, 2016. The organizers were R-Biopharm, from Germany and its Nigerian partner, Chromogene Nigeria Ltd. Participants were drawn from regulatory agencies, research institutes, Universities and agro entrepreneurs. The Rida Quick Scan and Rida Screen were on display and demonstration.
For further information please contact
a.adebayo@chromogene.com
Bill Gates Denounces GM Foods
Bill Gates has denounced the production and consumption of Genetically Modified foods. He claimed not to be involved in scientific research but in improving food productivity and enhance human health and reduce poverty. He spoke through Dr Audu Grema, the Senior Programme Officer, Agriculture in the West African Office of the Foundation
This was reported in The Vanguard newspaper of Wednesday 14 Sept 2016. On the reports that Gates was a major propagator of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), the programme officer refuted the assertion, saying that the Bill Gates had no connection with GMOs. According to him, Bill Gates has no interest to promote agribusiness, so we are denying that we did not bring GMOs into Nigeria. “Bill and Melinda Gates are not farmers; they are not into agricultural services; so, to think they will promote GMOs just to promote their businesses interest is very wrong. “I will be in complete denial that we have nothing to do with these big commercial agricultural farms that have been cited in some of the articles in Nigeria. “The foundation does not have anything to do with GMOs even in Nigeria and abroad. “No connection with the big industrial agricultural concerns which people are alluding to. “People making such assertions are morally wrong,’’ he said. Grema commended the `Green Alternative’ currently launched by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. He said the agricultural initiative was a step toward fighting poverty and food security in Nigeria.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/bill-gates-foundation-moves-boost-rice-yam-production-nigeria/
Comment=Will this information change the next direction of discussion?
DF 9/16
Is it TRUE ?? Takeover of Mission Hospitals in NIGERIA
Monsanto’s Plot to Takeover Nigeria’s Agriculture and Our Policy Response, By Jibrin Ibrahim
Premium Times July 25, 2016 Monsanto’s Plot to Takeover Nigeria’s Agriculture and Our Policy Response, By Jibrin Ibrahim columns, Democracy and Governance, Jibrin Ibrahim Comment (9)
The Ministry of Agriculture is proposing that agricultural research in the country should receive massive support. Our governments would engage its research institutions and bodies at different locations in the country, to conduct research for increased agricultural productivity and to make the research results available to farmers and other actors in the agricultural development of the states. That is the way to go.
As everyone knows, one American company called Monsanto has been on a determined march to take over agricultural production all over the world and enslave all farmers and countries to their commercial blood sucking logic. They have finally found a bridgehead into Nigeria where a door has been opened to allow them enter and takeover. They have been allowed to initiate so-called experimental farms to produce cotton and maize. Their point of entry has been the irresponsible National Biotechnology Development Agency, which has been compromised by Monsanto to provide an entry point to takeover our agriculture.
This week, I write to support the great work currently being carried out by Nnimmo Bassey and his team at the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) to resist the dangerous takeover of our agriculture by Monsanto. The Foundation has exposed the fact that GMOs have been approved to be grown in Nigeria and that the approval was surreptitious. There is an argument whether the approval was for a two-year trial process or for permanent production and for me, both most be opposed. At no time has the Nigerian government taken a policy decision to approve GMOs, and given the health dangers alone of this technology, it is irresponsible to allow this. We cannot allow the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to sell our future for some temporary inducement they have received from Monsanto. How was it allowed that Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Ltd would register in the country and start production without explicit approval of the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly.
Burkina Faso, which took the lead on GMO production in Africa, decided this year to abandoned its GMO cotton, citing the inferior lint quality of Monsanto products and the enslavement of buying expensive seeds and chemicals from the company each year for an income that is less than what they were having before introducing it. It would be recalled that for a long time, Burkinabé cotton was renowned for its high quality following a highly successful non-GM breeding programme founded by the French government and spanning 70 years. The main goal of the breeding programme was to create cultivars that were well adapted to the growing conditions in West Africa and had the desired quality characteristics, such as a high ginning ratio, which is the percentage of the desired cotton fibre per unit weight of cotton delivered to the factory and long staple length. They foolishly decided to abandon the home grown approach and follow the GMO route of Monsanto and after six years of commercial production, they discovered that the quality and world market price of their cotton had plummeted. Cotton is the second-biggest source of revenue for the impoverished West African country after gold. It is this same GMO cotton that failed in Burkina Faso that is now being introduced to Nigeria.
It is unfortunate that Bill Gates with his America First mentality is sponsoring Monsanto’s Water Efficient Maize for Africa, a five-year development project led by the Kenyan-based African Agricultural Technology Foundation, which aims to develop a variety of drought-tolerant maize seeds. Why will he not invest in the Institute of Agricultural Research project in Ahmadu Bello University that is developing draught resistant maize that does not have the dangers of what Monsanto is doing?
I therefore call on the Ministers of Agriculture and the Environment to call the National Biosafety Management Agency to order and to withdraw the authorisation issued for the production of GMO crops in Nigeria. Given our fragile ecosystems and stressed environment, we must take our biosafety seriously and avoid the path of introducing crops that are dangerous to the health of our people and our environment. Nineteen European countries that care about the health of their people have completely banned genetically modified crops. Even the Russian State Duma last month passed a bill banning all import and production of genetically modified organisms in the country. We must not allow Nigeria to be turned into a dumping ground for what sensible countries are rejecting. Sincere scientists have shown evidence that Monsanto’s crops are genetically enhanced to tolerate the use of the herbicide glyphosate which was declared as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The current Monsanto project to grow glyphosate infused maize in Nigeria is a direct threat to our health. Recent studies have linked glyphosate to health effects such as degeneration of the liver and kidney, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is unfortunate that Bill Gates with his America First mentality is sponsoring Monsanto’s Water Efficient Maize for Africa, a five-year development project led by the Kenyan-based African Agricultural Technology Foundation, which aims to develop a variety of drought-tolerant maize seeds. Why will he not invest in the Institute of Agricultural Research project in Ahmadu Bello University that is developing draught resistant maize that does not have the dangers of what Monsanto is doing?
I have just read Chief Audu Ogbeh’s Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016-2020 which outlines an excellent strategic approach to addressing the two key gaps in our agriculture today: an inability to meet domestic food requirements, and an inability to export at quality levels required for market success. The former problem is a productivity challenge driven by an input system and farming model that is largely inefficient. As a result, an aging population of farmers who do not have enough seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, crop protection and related support to be successful. The latter challenge is driven by an equally inefficient system for setting and enforcing food quality standards, as well as poor knowledge of target markets. Insufficient food testing facilities, a weak inspectorate system in the Ministry, and poor coordination among relevant federal agencies serve to compound early stage problems such as poor knowledge of permissible contaminant levels.
The strategy he proposes is to address the challenges of food insecurity and the economic costs of importing $3 to $5 billion worth of food annually, especially wheat, rice, fish and sundry items, including fresh fruits by looking inward. The Ministry of Agriculture is proposing that agricultural research in the country should receive massive support. Our governments would engage its research institutions and bodies at different locations in the country, to conduct research for increased agricultural productivity and to make the research results available to farmers and other actors in the agricultural development of the states. That is the way to go. Was it not just a couple of weeks ago that the Institute of Agricultural Research of Ahmadu Bello University found a cure for the terrible blight of the tomato Ebola disease that wiped out fresh stew from our homes recently. Let’s empower our research institutes for our own good.
A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of Premium Times.
CALL FOR A SUSTAINABLE PESTICIDE STRATEGY FOR NIGERIA
According to UNEP, poisonings from industrial and agricultural chemicals are among the top five leading causes of death worldwide, contributing to more than a million deaths every year. “Certain chemicals restrict and interfere in human development and can impair both physical and mental growth, as well as ability to learn.”[1] That over 600 NGOs exist today for the purpose of campaigning against the use/misuse of chemical pesticides is a clear indication of a growing worldwide concern that these chemicals indeedpose severe danger to man and the environment.
Pest and infection burden robs our citizens engaged in agriculture and the larger economy vital revenues. Fungi are ubiquitous plant pathogens that are major spoilage agents of foods and feedstuffs.[2]Fungal infection and contamination of stored foods has been well documented. That close to 40% of crops are lost due to some kind of pests before harvest and some 10% post harvest[3] should indeed be of serious concern. Reports from Nigeria[4] indicate that over 50% of yam tubers produced and harvested in Nigeria are lost in storage. Sometimes in October 2014, about 500 hectres of potato farmland was massively attacked by a potato blight disease in Plateau State.”[5]Just recently tomato farmers across several states in Nigeria suffered severe losses running into several billions of Naira, as a result of the Tuta absoluta disease. Several rice farmers from different states have equally called out for help, as a result of pests devastation.
Available control measures have not only proved inadequate and unsustainable, but have worsened the already appalling disease burden and led to further degradation of our environment. For example,the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are between 10,000-20,000 occupational pesticide poisonings annually in the United States of America. The WHO further estimates that pesticides contribute up to 1million deaths globally with developing countries like Nigeria bearing a disproportionate share. Authorities in Nigeria report that pesticide poisoning causes about 3million acute food poisoning and over 20,000 deaths in Nigeria annually. According to a U.N. report, “The potential cost of pesticide-related illnesses in sub-Saharan African between 2005 and 2020 could reach $90 billion.” The estimated cost of pesticide poisoning exceeds the total amount of international aid for basic health services for the region.[6]How dire can the situation possibly get? “Until safe pesticides are developed and made affordable for occupational use, workers will continue to be exposed to potentially harmful chemicals.”[7]Children are at even more higher risk because far lower concentrations of chemicals will trigger adverse health effects. “Pollution and disease related to the unsustainable use, production and disposal of chemicals can, in fact, hinder progress towards key development targets by affecting water supplies, food security, well-being or worker productivity.”[8]
Many NGOs areinvolved in a global campaign for policies and standards that ensure “chemicals are used only in ways that preserve the health of communities and protect the integrity of the environment for present and future generations”.[9] This would include a ban on those substances deemed highly hazardous.
“Pesticide” is an umbrella term that includes many kinds of chemicals, natural and synthetic. A pesticide is any substance intended to control, destroy, repel, or attract a pest. Any living organism that causes damage, economic loss, transmits or produces disease may be the target pest.[10] Some of the most common pesticides include insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, molluscicides, fungicides, repellents, disinfectants and sanitizers.[11]
Pesticides are toxic by design – they are BIOCIDES, designed to kill, reduce or repelinsects, weeds, rodents, fungi or other organisms that can threaten public health and theeconomy.[12]
WHAT ARE THE USES OF PESTICIDES?
PESTICIDE USE IN AGRICULTURE
Pesticide use in agriculture dates back to the 1940s. Although pesticides can be beneficial in boosting food production, “yet many times their detrimental effects outweigh the positive ones”.Use of pesticides tends to be more intense and unsafe in developing countries, whereregulatory; health and education systems are weaker.[14] Their usage requires thorough knowledge, stringent regulation and strict compliance with strenuous safety measures. These fundamentals are often lacking in the developing countries. Pesticides can be extremely hazardous to the human body and other living organisms, as they are designed to be a poison.“The more chemicals you use, the more risk of exposure due to application and the more risk of contamination and exposure of Nigerians to the harmful effects of chemicals.”[15]Currently an estimated 3.2 million tones[16] of pesticides are used each year.
The farmers face a predicament because pest and fungi infections are of serious concern. With about 50% of crops losses, our farmers face very difficult problem. In an attempt to address these challenges several potentially harmful pesticides (fungicides) have been unleashed on our environment with little or no control measures, leaving the citizens’ health and the overall environment worse-off. With over 70% of Nigeria’s workforce engaged in agriculture, many of whom are illiterates, who cannot read product labels or instructions, abuse is certainly the order of the day, and the consequences (health, environment and the economy) are simply dreadful.
RECOMMENDATIONS
We strongly recommend that a National Pesticide Strategybe put in place urgently in order to address all concerns relating to pesticide importation, production, storage and usage. Some of the major areas to be addressed include:
SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
It is no secret that the world is going “GREEN” now in as many products and processes as possible, and the reasons have been well enumerated. So much is at stake and failure to act quickly enough only exacerbates the situation.
Suffice to say that leaving highly toxic pesticides in the hands of ignorant farmers only creates an even worse problem than the pest infestation. The use and/or misuse of synthetic pesticides is affecting not only the environment, but also the sources of water, biodiversity and most importantly people’s health. Providing sustainable “green” alternatives is a global objective. Nigeria cannot afford to be left out because the consequences could be even more terrifying.
Companies/organizations engaged in the manufacture of this needed sustainable alternatives to CHEMICAL PESTICIDES/FUNGICIDES/ DISINFECTANTS should be massively supported by the Government.
PATRICK ONWULIRI
P_onwuliri@yahoo.com
[1] UNEP
[2] Atanda et al
[3]Innovative Pesticides are What the World Needs Agranova. CCM China: Crop Protection Summit. March 2011.
[4] Onayemi, 1983
[5] The Eagle Online: “Blight Attacks 500 hectares of potato farms in Plateau” – Commissioner
[6] www.unep.org
[7] www.bulldoglawyers.com/legal-services
[8] UNEP
[9] www.pan-uk.org
[10]www.cdpr.ca.gov
[11] ibid
[12] WHO
[13]Innovative Pesticides are What the World Needs Agranova. CCM China: Crop Protection Summit. March 2011.
[14] ibid
[15] The Guardian
[16] EPA
Bt Corn Mainstreamed
This article explores the use of genetically modified Bt corn in the Philippines. The use of such corn was allowed beginning in December of 2002. Since that time, the area planted in biotech corn has reached a total of 702,000 hectares, involving 400,000 farming families. According to the Philippines Statistics Authority, 70 percent of the total corn harvested in the country is Bt corn. Dr. Randy A. Hautea, the global coordinator and Southeast Asia director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, said, the upward trajectory in adoption of biotech corn “reflects the significant and consistent benefits generated by biotech maize to farmers here. About 65 percent of the total yellow corn of the country is actually GM, the 350,000 to 400,000 farming families are now directly dependent on GM corn production.” Dr. Cleofe S. Torres, of the UPLB-College of Development Communication, said research has shown that farmers’ incomes tripled with Bt corn as compared to traditional corn.
For more, please contact Meridian Institute 8 August 2016 Food security and AgBiotech News
107 Nobel laureates sign letter blasting Greenpeace over GMOs
More than 100 Nobel laureates have signed a letter urging Greenpeace to end its opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The letter asks Greenpeace to cease its efforts to block introduction of a genetically engineered strain of rice that supporters say could reduce Vitamin-A deficiencies causing blindness and death in children in the developing world.
“We urge Greenpeace and its supporters to re-examine the experience of farmers and consumers worldwide with crops and foods improved through biotechnology, recognize the findings of authoritative scientific bodies and regulatory agencies, and abandon their campaign against ‘GMOs’ in general and Golden Rice in particular,” the letter states.
The letter campaign was organized by Richard Roberts, chief scientific officer of New England Biolabs and, with Phillip Sharp, the winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for the discovery of genetic sequences known as introns. The campaign has a website,supportprecisionagriculture.org, that includes a running list of the signatories, and the group plans to hold a news conference Thursday morning at the National Press Club in Washington.
“We’re scientists. We understand the logic of science. It’s easy to see what Greenpeace is doing is damaging and is anti-science,” Roberts told The Washington Post. “Greenpeace initially, and then some of their allies, deliberately went out of their way to scare people. It was a way for them to raise money for their cause.”
For more, please visit
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/06/29/more-than-100-nobel-laureates-take-on-greenpeace-over-gmo-stance/
AFLATOXIN and CANCER
About 40% of all cases of liver cancer in Africa are traceable to AFLATOXIN !!!!!….. (EC)
EIS soon on Glyphosate
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) of the USA announces an intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts that may result from the approval of a petition for deregulation of a creeping bentgrass genetically engineered for glyphosate resistance.
The public is requested to review ‘our Notice of Intent (NOI) and provide comment to help us identify potential issues and impacts that APHIS should consider in our evaluation of the petition from Scotts Company and Monsanto Company. The NOI will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days’.
APHIS will consider all public input submitted during the 30-day comment period on the NOI and use the information as we work to complete, and then publish, the draft EIS
8/2016
News: Dairy and beef cattle at high risk for mycotoxin exposure
Inconsistent weather patterns this past summer wreaked havoc on the 2015 North America crop, producing irregularities in plant growth and now putting dairy and beef cattle at high risk for mycotoxin exposure, according to Alltech’s North America Harvest Analysis.
The annual study surveyed 116 North American corn silage samples from across the United States and Canada from September to November 2015, testing for mycotoxin contamination to determine the risk posed to ruminant animals. The Alltech 37+® mycotoxin analysis found an average 5.6 mycotoxins per sample, with 71 percent of samples testing at high risk to dairy and 59 percent at high risk to beef cow performance. The harvest analysis revealed multiple mycotoxins present in 2015 corn silage, showing the greatest risk for Type A Trichothecenes, Fusaric Acid and Type B Trichothecenes. Fusaric Acid and Type B Trichothecenes were present in almost all corn silage samples and can interact synergistically with each other, increasing toxicity and elevating the potential to impact herd health and performance.
Common symptoms with the ingestion of these toxins include reduced feed intake, lowered blood pressure, swelling and edema of the legs, liver damage, immune response and lowered milk and meat production. Also present this year was Pencillium mycotoxins, commonly known as storage toxins. Found in more than 41 percent of samples, Pencilliums can have a strong impact on rumen health, altering microbial protein and affecting rumen and gut health, which can result in altered production.
“It is important for producers to understand the synergistic effects toxins can have when multiple are present in feed, causing an influx in animal and rumen health challenges,” said Dr. Max Hawkins, Alltech Mycotoxin Management team nutritionist. “Management practices to prevent exposure are always the best course of action. Producers should look to test feed samples at harvest and prior to feedout to identify the risk posed to their animals.”
According to Dr. Alexandra Weaver, Alltech Mycotoxin Management technical specialist, scientific literature shows that at high risk levels to dairy cows, cows may produce 1.34 pounds (0.61L)/milk/day less when consuming mycotoxins. Additionally, milk somatic cell count (SCC) may increase by 48.8 percent. With this loss in performance and considering current milk prices, producers could see an estimated reduction in profitability per cow at $67.27 over one lactation.
“Producers need to be cautious, now more than ever, to ensure proper packing procedures are implemented to avoid spoilage prior to feedout,” Hawkins said. “If left uncontrolled, contamination even at low levels can cause health and performance challenges in livestock, resulting in the loss of production and profitability.”
Source : Alltech mycotoxins