Mold, a Corny Story of Unwanted Spores

When it comes to corn, cultural diversity is not a good thing.

I love cultural diversity, I love different cultures and learning about places far, far away. I love history. I have never ever once in my life thought that cultural diversity wasn't fascinating and somewhat necessary. Today, I feel like my world and sense of all that is enriching for human existence has been turned on its "ear." Ok, ok, so I am being a bit dramatic, and my puns are mediocre at best, but there is a point to this rant.

 

I am talking about mold. In your bin. On your corn. YUK! I know it's "corny" but all things considered, your grain bin is the last place you want to find diverse kernels of corn. I like to think that we should always invite everyone to the party, but when  mold shows up, he isn't the best guest. He brings nothing but spores, and more spores, contaminating the whole party. Talk about a social epidemic. Seriously, check your bin for party crashers, you might be surprised to find you have the mold epidemic!

So who invited the mold spore family named aspergillus? Here is the scoop, straight from Joe Speich, resident agronomist, "It's naturally present everywhere, it is an opportunist mold. It was a cold winter, with a not so normal spring, and then we jumped right into a warm, humid late spring. Natural condensation happens, creating a perfect environment for mold spores to ignite. Once they ignite, it's like a fire, they proliferate or reproduce very rapidly." 

 

So what's the moral of the story? An empty bin can't throw a mold party...move your corn to market, call Landmark grain to get the best price.  After you sell your corn to Landmark, take your spouse out for date night and celebrate. Have a party, be culturally diverse, with the exclusion being aspergillus!

 

Cassandra Strommen, VP Marketing Development of Landmark is no stranger to agriculture. Strommen worked in Animal Nutrition for five years prior to her current role with Landmark. She has a passion for cows and all things agribusiness. If you'd like to get in touch with her, she can be reached at cassandra.strommen@landmark.coop.