FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCGA Adds Mycotoxin Resources to www.ncga.com

ST. LOUIS (September 21, 2007) -- In a major expansion of its Web site, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has added a section devoted to mycotoxin management in corn.

“We hope to spread knowledge about the danger mycotoxins can pose, and the advances in dealing with it,” said Scott Averhoff, chairman of the NCGA Mycotoxin Task Force. “Research has been going on for more than 20 years, but a lot of growers only have to deal with mycotoxins on a sporadic basis. They need a resource to provide facts and information.”

Mycotoxins are produced by several families of fungus. The two primary mycotoxins affecting corn are aflatoxin and fumonisin.

Part of the increased attention to mycotoxins has resulted from the increased popularity of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), noted Averhoff. Mycotoxins can be concentrated in DDGS during ethanol production. As production and demand for DDGS grows, Averhoff says, corn growers need a better understanding of mycotoxins as well as local resources for information.

 “The potential could arise where corn that is safe for feeding is processed into ethanol, but the resulting DDGS could come out above FDA feeding action levels,” Averhoff explained.

The new section provides information on recommended management practices, FDA guidelines for acceptable mycotoxin levels for feed, and links to more information on mycotoxin research.  It can be found under the Production & Stewardship Key Issues area on the NCGA Web site at http://www.ncga.com/Production/Mycotoxins/index.asp.

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The National Corn Growers Association’s mission is to create and increase opportunities for corn growers. NCGA represents more than 32,000 members and 47 affiliated state organizations and hundreds of thousands of growers who contribute to state checkoff programs. For more information on NCGA, log on to www.ncga.com.