In recent years, there have been increasing reports of mycotoxins being found in grass silage in Northern Ireland (NI), particularly in the dairy sector.
In response to this, AgriSearch has announced it is commissioning a pilot project which will examine the prevalence of mycotoxins in grass silage.
According to the NI-based farmer-funded research entity, many farmers are now routinely including mycotoxin binders in their total mixed ration (TMR).
There is a lot of speculation about the source of these mycotoxins, including residuals from slurry spreading, soil contamination, other moist feeds and the difficult weather conditions in recent years, but there is little independent evidence as to the true extent and source of mycotoxins in NI, according to the research body.
AgriSearch has selected 15 farmers from its Beacon and GrassCheck farmer networks to participate in the project.
The farmers have been submitting detailed records of slurry and fertiliser applications, cutting dates, details of silage management and prevailing weather conditions at cutting and harvesting.
Samples will be collected from the farms over the winter by AgriSearch staff and analysed for both mycotoxins and antibiotics at the Institute for Global Food Security’s state-of-the-art laboratory at Queen’s University.
A number of samples will be taken on each farm to establish if there are mycotoxins present, and if so, where in the process they are occurring and what mycotoxins are present.
This project aims give an indication of the true extent of mycotoxins and the possible causes, and the results will be used to design a larger scale study to examine possible interventions to reduce the prevalence of mycotoxins in silage.
AgriSearch (The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council) is an independent charity that was formed in 1997.
It aims to “provide a mechanism through which beef, dairy and sheep farmers can have direct involvement in production-orientated research”.
