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Ag in the AM: Corn Yields Vary Widely

Farmers reporting wildly different corn yields in their fields, USDA to allow aflatoxin in Illinois corn feed

DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa farmers are finding yields "all over the board" as they head into the fields.

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation says corn farmers facing the "Drought of 20-12" are seeing very different harvest conditions in their fields.

The Bureau says corn farmers have seen yields vary from 170-bushels per acre to zero... sometimes on the same farm.

A Sioux County farmer says improved conservation and technology has made the soil so variable that yields can range from zero to 270 bushels an acre.

Aflatoxin-Tainted Corn Use Approved

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois farmers have just received a waiver from the federal ban against blending aflatoxin-contaminated corn.

Tuesday, the U.S. Agriculture Department announced the waiver has been granted under specific conditions:
         - Corn contaminated with aflatoxin above 20 parts per billion may be blended with other corn for animal feed.
         - The blended corn will be clearly identified and labeled for animal feed use only.
         - Corn containing aflatoxin levels greater than 500 parts per billion cannot be blended.

Iowa farmers already received a similar waiver.

The waivers are in effect until the end of the year.

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