St. Louis, Missouri
March 10, 2009
Last week, corn farmers from
Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama made
Capitol Hill visits to advocate on important agriculture issues.
The group specifically was lobbying for agricultural research
funding to address ongoing concerns with mycotoxin contamination
in corn.
“It’s crucial that agriculture works together on this issue,
which is especially important to farmers in the Southeast,” said
Guy Davenport, a grower from North Carolina who made the visits
and is a member of the National
Corn Growers Association’s (NCGA) Corn Board. “Coming to
Washington was an important step in educating lawmakers about a
very real threat to our region’s agriculture and economy.”
Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by naturally occurring
fungi in grains, nuts, and oil seeds, which at high
concentrations can present a health threat to humans and
animals. One type of mycotoxin is aflatoxin, which is most
prevalent in corn, cotton, peanuts and tree nuts. Aflatoxin is
most commonly related to drought-stressed corn followed by
periods of high humidity, and it more commonly occurs in
southern states.
The farmers were joined by representatives of five land-grant
universities in advocating for the funds. Texas A&M, Auburn
University, Mississippi State University, North Carolina State
University and the University of Georgia are all part of the
Southern States Aflatoxin Initiative.
The group is seeking $5 million a year from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture over the next five years to establish and operate
the Aflatoxin Center of Excellent of the South. Research efforts
will focus on biological control and ecology, breeding and
genetics for resistance, best management practices, and
remediation of contaminated grain. A portion of the funding
would be in the form of competitive grants that could be
available to researchers at universities across the country who
are doing work in this field |
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