Prairie Public NewsRoom
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Interim Legislative committee studying the wheat disease 'vomitoxin'

ND Grain Growers Assoc.

An interim Legislative committee has begun a study of vomitoxin.

That’s a fungus that affects small grain crops – and can render the crop useless.

"It's cost billions of dollars over the past three or four decades," said North Dakota Grain Growers executive director Dan Wogsland. "Not just to farmers, but to elevator operators, end users and everything else."

Wogsland said in 2016, vomitoxin was a serious problem in the durum crop.

Wogsland said grain infected with vomitoxin is worthless in grain milling, as well as in the beer industry. He said one of industry’s main concerns in this Legislative study is to make sure the instruments used to test grain for vomitoxin are consistent. Wogsland said there are instances where the same boxcar of grain tests positive for the fungus in one location – but tests negative at another location.

"Making sure that the crop is accurately tested, making sure that is is adequately sampled, making sure we have an education process in place, so not only farmers, but elevator operators, end users and consumers know and understand vomitoxin and what it means," Wogsland said. "This is an essential part of the study."

Wogsland said researchers at NDSU have been doing good work to help prevent the fungus – and to improve the accuracy of testing for the disease.

Related Content