Indiana corn farmers target mycotoxins, plant diseases with research investment  

By Alan Dunn, President, Indiana Corn Growers Association 

Many farmers throughout the state have experienced the frustration and fear of having a truckload of corn rejected at an elevator or an ethanol plant due to mycotoxins or a variety of other plant diseases. It has happened to me, and it caused my thoughts to spiral. 

“My corn looked perfectly normal; how can this be? What will I do with this load? What will I do if my whole crop is contaminated? How will we survive if we can’t sell our corn?” 

Fortunately, I can now share that our problem was limited to corn from one field. However, there was still a cost, and it added up in a year when prices were less than great. 

In my February magazine column, I discussed how corn growers as an industry – our biomanufacturing industry – compares with other manufacturing industries as far as investing in research and development. Based on last year’s published yield for Indiana corn multiplied by Indiana’s half cent per bushel checkoff rate, Hoosier farmers invest a little more than one-tenth of 1 percent of their revenue into research and promotion. The national average for other U.S. manufacturing industries is 3-4 percent of revenue on similar spending. 

So, where do farmers invest in research against challenges such as southern rust, tar spot and mycotoxins? The volunteer farmer leaders of the Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC) Board of Directors target this research through Purdue University, USDA and other sources. 

As president of the Indiana Corn Growers Association, the state’s corn policy organization, we campaign for as much funding as possible from state and federal budgets to combat these in-field problems. 

ICGA and ICMC are working on a daily basis to offset the persistent threats from fungal diseases that can slash yields, degrade grain quality and create serious marketing headaches. 

The recently created Mycotoxin Mitigation Center of Excellence (MMCOE) is an example of that work. The MMCOE is a partnership between the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and USDA to fund research that could reduce or eliminate mycotoxins. Scott Smith, a farmer from Tipton County who is on both the ICMC and ICGA boards, represents Indiana corn growers on the MMCOE board. 

With research funded through state checkoff programs like ICMC and others, the work of the MMCOE is showing promise of offsetting the effects of mycotoxins. 

Indiana ranks among the top corn-producing states. Plant diseases don’t just cut bushels per acre, they raise production costs, tighten margins and threaten the reliability of the state’s corn crop for livestock feed, ethanol and exports. By pooling checkoff resources, ICMC farmer leaders turn checkoff dollars into targeted solutions. An example is the Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center at Purdue University, which was created by checkoff investment to battle on-farm challenges. 

Having a top-notch ag research university in state like Purdue is a benefit to all Indiana farmers. 

When ICMC invests in research, farmers gain tools to stay ahead of evolving threats such as changing disease pressure. Purdue’s disease monitoring network includes free diagnostic testing for tar spot and southern rust from samples submitted by Indiana growers. Real-time tracking maps and in-season updates help farmers make timely fungicide decisions. With diseases showing up earlier in some regions and weather variability increasing, these efforts provide data-driven advice rather than guesswork. 

As farmers, we don’t wait for solutions. When a fence is broken, we mend it. If equipment isn’t working, we repair it. When we’re battling an invisible pest, we pool our resources together to solve it. That’s what ICMC and ICGA work is all about.