Mycotoxins are a concern for livestock producers, as they have toxic properties that impact feed quality as well as animal health and performance. Harvest samples from across the U.S. that have been submitted to the Alltech 37+ mycotoxin analytical services laboratory in 2018 show high levels of mycotoxins, particularly deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone, fusaric acid, fumonisin and HT-2.
“Mycotoxins thrive in changeable conditions, with lack of rain, excessive rainfall or, sometimes, one after the other causing a perfect storm of contamination,” said Alexandra Weaver, global technical support with the Alltech Mycotoxin Management team. “The extreme weather events that we’ve seen this year around the world have led to increased occurrence of mycotoxins in many countries.”