Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced yesterday that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will require aflatoxin screening and testing of milk received in Iowa beginning August 31. The order requires milk processors to screen all Grade A and Grade B farm bulk milk pickup tankers and farm can milk loads for aflatoxin on a weekly basis, continuing indefinitely.

Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring by-product of a type of mold that can affect crops like corn, which is used in animal feed. The Department is also instituting a state-wide corn sampling program.

“We were well aware that aflatoxin could be an issue this year due to the historic drought conditions,” Northey said. “Now that farmers are starting to harvest silage, and corn in some cases, it is appropriate to begin this screening process to make sure our milk supply remains safe.”

For more information, contact Jon Gardner, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards, at jgardner@idfa.org.