Could mycotoxins be an issue this winter?

17 Nov 2021
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Quantifying the level of mycotoxin contamination in your feeds is always difficult, as there are >400 different species of mycotoxins, all with varying levels of toxicity, and they may not be in every part of the silage clamp or TMR that we sample! Generally speaking, any plant with a flowering head (such as maize or wheat) could have developed fungi in the field, under stress conditions such as drought or wet weather, which produce the ‘in field’ mycotoxins on the plant. When harvested, the mycotoxins remain in the silage, and in some cases, further mould/fungi growth in the clamp can lead to more ‘storage’ mycotoxin production.

Your silage may be dryer than normal this year, heating up, visible moulds? These are all risk factors for mycotoxins to some degree in the silage. There is also a risk of ‘in field’ mycotoxins in combined cereals, particularly those from abroad having seen adverse weather conditions, and it has been reported that maize could be at higher risk of fumonisins this year.

What are the main symptoms of Mycotoxin damage?

1. Reduction in dry matter intake

2. Reduced rumen function – cud balls

3. Poor fertility, particularly cystic ovaries and cycle abnormalities

Customer Testimonial – Farthinghoe Lodge Dairy, Northhampton

120 Crossbreeds, 10,000L, 4.2 Butterfat, 3.68 Protein. Autumn focussed calving. Arla producer. Nutritionist – Peter Dowle.
Maize Silage tested high for Aflatoxins, in the diet 50:50 with grass silage.
Issues last Autumn with Cystic Ovaries, despite using a different mycotoxin binder product at the time. There was inconsistent loose muck between the cows, they were not yielding as expected and body condition in fresh cows was becoming an issue.

‘’ We started feeding Restore 5+ at 100g/hd last Autumn, and immediately we saw an improvement in the muck score of the cows. We have kept Restore 5+ in the diet all year now at 50-75g/hd, and in that time we have seen an increase of 3-4L/cow/day, and almost complete elimination of cystic ovaries in the cows, which was a big issue beforehand. We will be keeping Restore 5+ in the diet as we know mycotoxins are an issue, seeing these responses in the cows has proven that, and more than paid for itself in the improvements in fertility and milk yield’’ – Peter Dowle, Nutritionist and Simon Billers, Herd Manager.

Why Restore 5+?

5 Proven modes of action to restore, enhance and elevate performance! Restore 5+ is the most broad-spectrum binder on the market, containing clays, yeast cell walls, polyphenols, plant extracts and essential oil ingredients to bind and adsorb all types of potential mycotoxins. Anti-oxidant properties enhance the immune response of the cow via the kidney’s and liver, so a quicker response to mycotoxin damage and sustained immunity improvements are seen.

*In Field Mycotoxins = Fumonisins, DON and ZEN

*Storage Mycotoxins = Aflatoxins and Ochratoxins