Suffolk livestock farmers on alert for deadly grain fungi

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) said they should ensure they are familiar with how to spot for signs of the fungi in grain harvested this summer because instances are likely to be higher.

Harvested crops processed through mills are thoroughly checked to ensure they don't enter the human food chain.

But where farmers grow grain and use it directly on their farms to feed livestock there can be a problem.

Ergot is toxic and can affect wheat, barley, rye, triticale and oats. It has the potential to make humans and livestock seriously ill.

Fusarium head blight in wheat (Image: Andrew Steed) It can constrict blood vessels and damage the nervous system, resulting in seizures, loss of muscle strength, poor co-ordination and in the most severe cases, death. Lameness is often the first sign, followed by an increase in temperature and respiratory rate, said the AHDB.

Ollie Johnson, AHDB head of farming systems and agronomy, said: “At harvest, ergot can be found as a hard, black mass in place of the grain and can be mistaken in a heap for rodent faeces. The only effective way to remove it from a pile is by using a colour sorter which can be sourced through many mobile seed treatment companies.

“In the field, there is no easy solution to remove ergot other than to use an appropriate seed treatment at drilling, though managing grassweeds and good rotations can help – unfortunately this is much too late for harvest 24.”

Ergot in wheat (Image: AHDB)

Fusarium can affect all the major cereal crops as well as maize. It releases mycotoxins and is particularly dangerous to both humans and livestock, the AHDB warned.

In cattle, fusarium poisoning can reduce feed intake by reduced appetite, hamper immune system health, and cause gastrointestinal irritation.

Extensive rainfall during the flowering period in late May and early June has heightened the risk of it infecting crops.

“For cereal crops out in the field, farmers should be looking for 'white heads', which are ears that appear to have gone white while the rest of the plants appear greener,” said Mr Johnson.

“Once harvested, contaminated grains will appear shrivelled with pink tips and/or black patches and are impractical to be removed.”

Maize grown in a continuous rotation, and wheat after maize is particularly high risk. Wheat crops that didn’t receive a fusarium active fungicide, such as Prothioconazole or Pydiflumetafen, at or before flowering should be closely investigated ahead of harvest this year, said the advisory body.