I’ve long been an advocate for strong point-of-origin labeling requirements for produce. Not only do such labels help consumers to make the most informed choices when they select their fruits and vegetables at the grocery store, they also make it possible for the markets to more rationally handle food-safety crises like the recent salmonella scare – when we know the problem is Mexican peppers, then peppers with a bona-fide ‘Grown in Florida’ label don’t take an undeserved hit. Such requirements are also good for US farmers, because they make homegrown produce more attractive to the millions of consumers who would rather buy American.

I was pleased that the 2008 farm bill included country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements, but it looks like some big meat packers are going to skirt the rules, probably in an attempt to make it difficult for consumers to know where their meat actually came from. A USDA interpretation of the 2008 COOL requirements will allow packers to label a great deal of purely US beef as being “multi-country” in origin. The ruling, intended to make it easier on packers who are not set up to track their meat by country, means that consumers won’t be able to tell if the beef they’re buying actually is from the US or from overseas.

The National Farmer’s Union has asked the USDA to reinterpret the provision, which is scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2008. At the moment, the COOL requirements are considered “educational” – packers have six months or so before the government will actually start enforcing things. Still, standards and practices have a way of accumulating momentum – if packers are allowed to ignore the country of origin labeling requirements in this fashion, it will be both practically and politically more difficult to get them to do things right once the standards have actual teeth. (Every parent knows the strength and persistence of the “but you used to let us do it that way!” argument.)

NFU president Tom Buis gets it right: “The law clearly states that products born, raised and slaughtered in the United States are to be labeled as a product of the United States. Despite this clear language, USDA’s rules will allow packers to label exclusively American products with those from other countries.”

Come on, USDA. You guys have been playing politics with this for six years. (The COOL requirements were in the 2002 farm bill, but never were implemented by regulators.) It’s time to give Americans fair and accurate labeling information on their food. It doesn’t cost more, it doesn’t put huge burdens on the packers and distributors, and it puts a spotlight on the quality and availability of US-grown produce and meat. Let’s do things right.

Last week I touched on fungal diseases that can affect the soybean crop. Corn, too, has its share of fungal enemies. Corn fungus infections reduce the yield, damage the quality of the crop, and reduce its value as feed, so it’s well worth taking these infections very seriously. As you might expect, the wetter the season the bigger the potential for fungus problems – but some fungi do exceptionally well in dry conditions, so don’t assume you’re safe just because it’s been sunny lately. Damage to the kernels from birds or insects (who leave holes in the husk, allowing fungus to penetrate) also makes life easier for our fungal friends.

Aspergillus ear rot is a grayish-green powdery mold that starts at the tip of the ear and spreads along damage caused by insects. The infection can take root anytime from silking on, and isn’t stopped by dry conditions. Aspergillus produces aflatoxin, which is dangerous to people and livestock both. Elevators test corn for aflatoxin levels, and will reject bushels that exceed FDA limits.

Diplodia ear rot commonly hits in fields that are grown with reduced tillage, or that are continuously planted with corn. The fungus shows as a white or gray mold at the base of the ear and gros between kernels. Diplodia gets a big boost from wet weather within three weeks after silking, so watch for it then.

Fusarium is a kernel rot that shows up as white or pink streaks that look like stars, scattered over the entire ear. Fusarium gets its start at places where the ear is damaged from insects, and from kernel growth cracks. Fusarium produces fumonisin, a mycotoxin that is deadly to livestock and especially to horses. Fusarium gets a boost from warm, dry weather.

Gibberella begins at the tip of the ear and progresses down towards the butt. It is red or white, with pink being the most common shade observed. Gibberella produces both vomitoxin and zearalenone, both of which are harmful to livestock. Gibberella does best in cool, wet weather after silking, through the late summer months.

Penicillium, also known as “blue eye”, grows on and between kernels, particularly those damaged by worms, corn borers, or machinery. Corn stored with high moisture levels is particularly susceptible.

Trichoderma produces a green mold that grows on and between husks and kernels. Trichoderma gets its start through insect or mechanical damage. Trichoderma generally doesn’t do much damage on its own, but you should learn what it looks like so you won’t mistake it for the much more dangerous Aspergillus, which it sometimes resembles.

Managing these fungal pests can be quite a hassle. Many ear rot fungi can stay alive in the soil for years, so thoroughly scout fields that have had ear rot in recent years. Crop rotation, heavy tillage, and planting a mixture of hybrids are all good ways to minimize the impact of fungal infection on your crop.

Some of you may be wondering who else, other than you, reads my farming and agriculture blog. 

My web savvy friends over at HotPress Web recently installed some cool tracking software on my blog to help me understand where my readers come from. (we do precision agriculture, why not precision blogging?)  Anyway, I was impressed and I thought it would be interesting to share the results with you.  So here are my web visits over the past few days. 

National: By Major City

National: By State (Darker color indicates more traffic)

As expected the majority of my readers come from the Midwest US, but I get plenty of “city slicker” traffic from both coasts and lots from other places in between.  Unfortunately I haven’t had any readers from NV, UT, NM, ME, VT, or NH in the past several days.   

State Level, Regional

The two states where I get the most readers are Iowa and Illinois.

Iowa

Illinois

(Colorado rated third, but I think I’m skewing my numbers there because I login to my own blog account pretty frequently.)

I am also really proud to say that I also get quite a few international readers.  I guess they are interested in finding out what is going with agriculture and farming in the US.  Recent international visits came from Canada, India, United Kingdom, Croatia, Australia, France, Philippines, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Israel, Singapore, Sweden, Russia, Japan, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Bangladesh, Iran, Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Spain, Hong Kong, Poland, South Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, Switzerland, Hungary, Jamaica, Latvia, Indonesia, Belgium, Denmark, Bulgaria, Greece, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Kuwait and Turkey.

International

I want to personally thank all of you who take the time to read my blog and I especially appreciate the comments and emails. 

-Alex Tiller

There were poor weather conditions earlier this year, particularly in the central Midwest, and that means that a lot of soybean planting was delayed until late into the season. This is a good time to check for fungal diseases among soybeans, particularly on fields that have been continuously planted with soybeans over multiple seasons – the fungi that cause a lot of these diseases can really build up on acreage that doesn’t have a crop turnover now and again.

There are a number of diseases in particular that soybean farmers should watch out for – white mold, brown stem rot, and sudden death syndrome in particular. If your crop shows signs of any of these, take remedial action as soon as you can, usually by spraying fungicide.

White mold is scientifically named “Sclerotina stem rot”, and comes from a fungus that lives in the soil. The fungus bodies in the ground are actually black, and form hard nodules called sclerotia. They can survive in soil for years, are highly resistant to heat (no heat level on your farm is going to kill them, unless you’re burning off fields), and don’t mind freezing and thawing one bit – you can see how they might make a home out of your soybean field. The infection of growing plants occurs at the time of flowering, and infection potential is made worse with high levels of moisture in the ground and in the air, cool temperatures, and lots of rain. White mold shows a white, fluffy growth that appears on the stems, along with wilted leaves and bleached stems.

Brown stem rot comes from a fungus that lives in crop residues (usually the stem) and in the soil as well. The fungus strikes when the plants are in the reproductive portion of their cycle, during cool weather, causing interveinal chlorosis (a yellowing of the leaves between the veins). This symptom of brown stem rot is worse when there is heavy rainfall keeping the plants wet all the time. Under dryer conditions, interveinal chlorosis is reduced or eliminated, and instead the leaves turn brown and dry up, but remain attached to the plant. The vascular tissues and pith of a plant with BSR are infected and have a dark brown discoloration all the way from the roots up.

Sudden death syndrome occurs a lot when the weather is cool before flowering and pod set. The fungus lives in the soil, and flourishes when the soil is wet. SDS is often found in plants growing on low spots and where the soil is compacted. Small yellow spots develop on the upper leaves, and eventually get larger and have a rotting appearance. However, the pith stays clean and white and you can definitively distinguish SDS from BSR by checking the pith.

None of these diseases are fun or easy to deal with, but early detection is the best way to keep on top of them.