Fumonisin, a toxin that is produced almost exclusively in corn and can be fatal to equine and rabbits, has been found in corn samples from the 2002 corn crop harvested around Waco, Austin, Kerrville and Victoria, according to Larry Whitlock, supervisor for feed and fertilizer product compliance with the Texas Feed and Fertilizer Control Service.

The Office of the Texas State Chemist and the Texas Feed and Fertilizer Control Service have analyzed 53 samples of new crop corn for fumonisin since Sept. 19. Forty-nine percent of the corn analyzed is above recommended levels for safe feeding of horses and rabbits.

Because the problem is not confined to a specific region in the state, all corn should be tested for fumonisin prior to being fed to sensitive animals such as horses and rabbits, he said.

Corn screenings (small and broken kernels separated from whole corn during cleaning) generally contain much higher levels of fumonisin than does whole corn. Officials say, to be safe, corn screenings should definitely not be fed to horses.

Fumonisin is produced in corn by the fungus/mold Fusarium monili-forme. Its development is favored by high humidity and overcast skies. These conditions occurred earlier this summer in some parts of the state and triggered the fungal growth, Whitlock said.

Fumonisin can cause leukoen-cephalomalacia (leuko) in horses, a fatal necrosis of the brain; after an animal has the symptoms, recovery is unlikely. The toxin also causes pulmonary edema ( PPE ) in swine.

The Office of the Texas State Chemist will continue to survey new crop corn. For updates and further information, contact the Office of the Texas State Chemist/Feed and Fertilizer Control Service at (979) 845-1121 or at http://otsc.tamu.edu.

The pork checkoff rate dropped a nickel, to 40 cents per $100 of value, on Sept. 30, according to the Agriculture Department.

Representatives of the pork producers and importers who pay the checkoff recommended earlier this year that the rate be reduced, and USDA approved the request.

"The impact of the reduction will result in reduced programming," said Dave Culbertson, a pork producer from Geneseo, Ill., who serves on the National Pork Board. "However, we believe that prioritization of programs and use of reserves, together with good management, will help us minimize the impact of reduced revenues."

Pork checkoff funds are used for a variety of programs designed to increase demand and exports, to conduct research in areas ranging from animal health to the environment, and to inform consumers about pork as a menu choice.

Established by the Texas Legislature in 1999, GOTEPP is a dollar-for-dollar matching fund program designed to help leverage the dollars available to promote agricultural products grown and processed in Texas.

The program is open to producers, commodity boards, cooperatives and businesses that are members of GO TEXAN, TDA's comprehensive marketing initiative.

"I'm very excited to be a part of this program," Kirk said. "I believe in it. We have a lot of wonderful things that we grow and make in Texas, and they need to be promoted."

Kirk raises cattle, goats and sheep at his San Saba ranch on the same land his grandfather settled in the early 1900s. He is a firm believer in the need for diversification.

His operation also includes a small amount of grain production, hunting, truck services and the sale of rocks for building materials.

A recent General Accounting Office (GAO) audit has found that the USDA is not enforcing safety guidelines for slaughterhouses and processing plants strictly enough, which put the public at risk for illness due to contaminated meat and poultry.

The report states the longer the Food and Safety Inspection Service "allows plants to remain out of compliance with regulatory requirements, the greater the risk that unsafe food will be produced and marketed."

The report comes after some lawmakers complained about how USDA handled a 19 million pound beef recall this summer.

The report found that inspectors failed to consistently identify and record repeated failures of plants to find contamination hazards, determine whether the hazard-detection systems are based on sound science since inspectors lack that expertise, and find any hazard-detection violations in 55 percent of the plants in 2001, a figure that seemed unreasonably high to many department officials.

USDA has stated that the report is documenting problems the department already identified as weaknesses and the issues have been addressed.

Notable Quotables

"The president and the secretary of agriculture have said it has to come out of the farm bill."

—Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels, warning that President Bush will not accept a Senate plan to spend around $6 billion in extra disaster aid, even though the extra spending recently was attached to the 2003 fiscal year Interior Appropriations bill. Daniels said the White House would oppose the plan.