Ergot Claims

[yellow belly]

When we augered into the lorry never had a claim and we knew there was some in it

now if it is in grain auger it in rather than bucket load

in wheat it runs to the edge of the truck and is not picked up in the sample
loading from a loading bin also has the same result seen it when looking at the local store when filling trucks

pigs are susceptible to it in the feed so pig feeders are sensitive to it
birds are relativly un affected

 

[Hedger]

Have been absolutely spanked on loads again today. I swear they have a pocket full for each sample.

Which homes?

 

[Banana Bar]

We had lots in 400t of spring wheat last year. We sent 2 loads into our central store where they found a few bits of ergot and costs were levied against us. We decided to send the rest to a feed mill at £182/t rather than bugger about with the sampling proces. They didn’t find any!

BB

 

[Banana Bar]

My central store is an expert at finding it. Which is precisely why I stole 400t straight to a mill after CS found ergot in 4 loads. No problems at the mill, are central stores becoming a hard tip?

 

[ajd132]

My central store is an expert at finding it. Which is precisely why I stole 400t straight to a mill after CS found ergot in 4 loads. No problems at the mill, are central stores becoming a hard tip?

Im sure you would be mightily pleased when it transpires that a quality (not a feed mill) customer has rejected 10,000 t of product from your CS because they have tried to sneak ergot in….

 

[Flat 10]

My central store is an expert at finding it. Which is precisely why I stole 400t straight to a mill after CS found ergot in 4 loads. No problems at the mill, are central stores becoming a hard tip?

Surely not. Anyone would think they need to justify their colour sorter…..

 

[teslacoils]

Ill hazard a guess it's more that mills choose not to look for it as hard as they ought. When you drive past farms rank with blackgrass who seemingly never see ergot, I'm sure it's selective sight.

At the same time, I bet some mills are desperate to make claims Vs stores simply because they find it so tricky to get the £2 they'd normally dock for protein and moisture.

Speculation of course.

 

[mikep]

The whole stupid thing is that ergot is not particularly dangerous just a lot of hysteria by ignorant people. To get the outbreaks of ergotism you need roughly 2% ergot in your grain, at that level the heap is purple. Don't forget when outbreaks were common rye was the most popular grain for a lot of the population.
The safe limit for livestock to prevent any growth affects is a constant feed of 1 per 1000 so this grain heap would look well pebbledashed. Ergot is a knee jerk reaction by ignorant people and unfortunately has been allowed to become a great bogey man due to some misunderstood ancient folk memory

 

[Flat 10]

The whole stupid thing is that ergot is not particularly dangerous just a lot of hysteria by ignorant people. To get the outbreaks of ergotism you need roughly 2% ergot in your grain, at that level the heap is purple. Don't forget when outbreaks were common rye was the most popular grain for a lot of the population.
The safe limit for livestock to prevent any growth affects is a constant feed of 1 per 1000 so this grain heap would look well pebbledashed. Ergot is a knee jerk reaction by ignorant people and unfortunately has been allowed to become a great bogey man due to some misunderstood ancient folk memory

Nothing is ever done scientifically and rationally

 

[radar]

When we augered into the lorry never had a claim and we knew there was some in it

now if it is in grain auger it in rather than bucket load

in wheat it runs to the edge of the truck and is not picked up in the sample
loading from a loading bin also has the same result seen it when looking at the local store when filling trucks

pigs are susceptible to it in the feed so pig feeders are sensitive to it
birds are relativly un affected

Had 2 loads of barley rejected at ABN Sherburn last year though couldn't see any myself. Redirected to a mill in Hull under new contract - no problem, and as the market had moved up £30 since originally sold, quids in. Old contract fulfilled by sending to the west where desperate at the time and no problem.

 

[Woldgrain Storage]

Had 2 loads of barley rejected at ABN Sherburn last year though couldn't see any myself.

Difficult to know with feed mills. Some don't look very hard, some seem to have zero tolerance.

There are probably other factors in play.

 

[mikep]

Nothing is ever done scientifically and rationally

I think that is not quite true, in fact I think the trade have been.perfectly rational in this. Consider the statement that 'the solution to pollution is dilution' which is invariably true then the way they treat this is the same as cashing in on moisture by mixing loads to bring them all into spec. Charge the farmer very little cost to the buyer kerching.

 

[yellow belly]

Pigs more susceptable to than poultry
so pig feed mills more carefull with the ingredients



I have found spring wheat and some winter milling wheats particularly hard milling produce ergot very easly

i also suspect that volunteer wheat in spring barley also breed it

small ergot in late germinatig or antlantis delayed black grass is also a higher risk

 

[tullah]

Ive found ergot in the blackgrass and this is what's coming off the combine. Small slithers of it that should blow out if I open up the air on the combine. Think I'll go a bit slower to give it a chance to blow out.

 

[bobk]

Dropped 3 loads in to my store today , they're getting 10 artics a day with ergot and it;s wet too , looking at £30 a ton .

 

[farmerfred86]

The whole stupid thing is that ergot is not particularly dangerous just a lot of hysteria by ignorant people. To get the outbreaks of ergotism you need roughly 2% ergot in your grain, at that level the heap is purple. Don't forget when outbreaks were common rye was the most popular grain for a lot of the population.
The safe limit for livestock to prevent any growth affects is a constant feed of 1 per 1000 so this grain heap would look well pebbledashed. Ergot is a knee jerk reaction by ignorant people and unfortunately has been allowed to become a great bogey man due to some misunderstood ancient folk memory

Thats pretty controversial. Ergot is known to make pigs abort, would you really want a low level in nationwide bread mills.

What is frustrating is that every lorry load of wheat this year will have at least one bit of ergot within... its down to the sampling process as to what's found on the lorry. A good sample doesn't mean there isn't any. I would hope every delivery goes through extensive cleaning/ colour sorting regardless of what the sample is.

 

[robbie]

Surely not. Anyone would think they need to justify their colour sorter…..

Or they know prices are good and they want there share of it.

 

[DrWazzock]

The situation at feed mill intakes seems much more difficult this year from what I’m hearing. My feed wheat deliveries have been postponed 3 times now as the haulier is run off his feet taking rejected loads to the colour sorters.
Intakes that were reasonable last year now seem to have zero tolerance.
I get the fact we don’t want ergot in feed but please give us a chance as farmers to know where we stand. Best I know is that present U.K. feed standard is 0.001% which I work out at one ergot per 10 kg which would actually look like a lot on a heap. Yet each and every intake seems to be applying its own much stricter standard. How can we work with that? We can’t now load anything without it being a complete lottery as to whether it gets rejected or not. Then there are added costs for us and onward transport costs in a time of lorry driver shortage.
So what’s it going to be? Either apply the U.K. standard or do you want zero tolerance for feed wheat? If it’s zero tolerance then we as feed wheat suppliers are going to have to colour sort everything and there will have to be a rethink on price or indeed it might be the case that some producers just don’t consider it worth the hassle any more. I’m close to that actually. So you can look forward to an even tighter supply.
And then there is the environmental and conservation aspect. Limiting the opportunity for ergot contamination in the crop means a pretty severe and environmentally harsh regime to put it in a nutshell. So what’s it’s going to be? A sterile countryside, everything ploughed, no grass margins, 2 x T3. Let’s have some joined up thinking please and a bit more pragmatism. Set a limit we can measure on farm before we send a load. Tell us what it is. Give us a chance. Stop playing cat and mouse and wasting everybody’s time and resources.

 

[DrWazzock]

That’s another load rejected that would normally have gone in. It’s the end of direct shipments to mills for us. Central storage the only way forward. #overabarrel #thedownwardspiralofhigherstandards
Hey ho. It’s only money.

 

[Flatlander]

With the number of farmers having loads rejected there is a good business opening for a mobile colour sorter and gravity table.