Test results clear northwest Kansas wheat

By Doug Rich and Jennifer M. Latzke

Despite wet weather that delayed harvest across the state, Kansas wheat farmers received a bit of good news June 30. Officials at the Kansas Department of Agriculture announced test results have cleared wheat fields in northwest Kansas of suspected fungicide residue.

Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky announced that based on test results from grain samples collected in northwest Kansas he will ask embargoes on 40 wheat fields be lifted.

Some of the samples showed no detectable traces of Quilt fungicide residue at all, while others showed levels below the tolerance established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Fields treated with Bumper, a fungicide similar to Quilt, also tested below federal tolerances.

"Now that the integrity of Kansas wheat is assured, we can focus on gathering facts that will tell us whether the products were applied at the proper stage of plant growth," Polansky said.

Because the crop matured later than usual due to cool, damp weather, Polansky said it's possible the timing of the applications was appropriate for the plant's development but ill-advised given the preharvest intervals for the fungicide products.

Embargoes that will be lifted June 30 are on fields in Decatur, Gove, Logan, Phillips, Rawlins, Sheridan, Thomas and Trego counties. An earlier news release incorrectly indicated fields in Sherman County were embargoed, but those fields were actually in Sheridan County. They were incorrectly identified as being in Sherman County due to a data entry error. Eleven of those fields were treated with Bumper, which requires a 40-day waiting period between application and harvest.

Precautionary measures

In late June the Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued embargoes for wheat fields in several counties throughout the state at the request of the Kansas Department of Agriculture. KDHE also embargoed wheat at three elevators after Department of Agriculture employees traced grain to them from three fields that were harvested before the embargoes could be delivered.

In question were late applications of Quilt and Bumper, fungicides that require a waiting period between application and harvest. Quilt requires 45 days and Bumper 40 days. Their active ingredients have a low toxicity in humans. However, residue on grain must not exceed limits established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Embargoes on 20 fields and three elevators in south-central Kansas were lifted June 25 when tests showed no detectable traces of Quilt fungicide residue on wheat samples pulled from those fields. Embargoes on two fields in Ellis and Jefferson counties were lifted June 26 when test results again revealed no detectable traces of Quilt's active ingredients.

Farming practices

Ron O'Hanlon, president and chief executive officer of Crop Quest in Dodge City, Kan., described how his business, like other crop consulting firms, had many phone calls following the wheat embargoes from concerned farmers about the status of their wheat crop. He knew of no Crop Quest fields that were affected by the embargo, though.

The whole situation evolved over labeling restrictions and how they were followed. The KDA has stated that failing to abide by a preharvest interval violates state and federal law and opens the producer to enforcement action.

O'Hanlon reminded producers that the labels that accompany chemicals are not just suggestions for safety, but the law.

"Labels are the law," he said. "Farmers should abide by the label." In this case, the label accompanying Quilt, O'Hanlon explained, allows farmers to spray wheat up to the pollination stage of wheat.

In the case of Kansas farmers, most of the wheat was really late in developing because of the dry conditions this winter and spring, he explained. "Some didn't grow until March," he said. So, according to the label, fields that hadn't reached the pollination or blooming stage could still have an application of Quilt into late April, early May.

But, as May approached, O'Hanlon explained many aerial applicators had to delay their application timing because of high winds that grounded many planes. It was very tough to apply the fungicide in a timely manner. However, looking at the wheat's late development, many would have assumed that it wouldn't be ready for 45 days, enough time to comply with the waiting period on the label.

Mother Nature changed that with hot dry winds in May and June that matured wheat much quicker than expected.

In theory, though, it's not surprising that "no detectable traces" of fungicide were found on wheat samples. At the time of application, according to label, there is no grain--it hasn't even formed yet.

"Since it isn't present at the time it's treated, you really have to ask the question how can there be residue on the grain at all," O'Hanlon said. He mentioned that there has been talk about amending the current Quilt label to shorten the 45-day waiting period.

Changing the label

Prior to the late June embargo of Kansas wheat, Syngenta was conducting internal discussions to determine if the 45-day waiting period for its fungicide Quilt could be shortened.

These efforts began well before the wheat situation in Kansas, according to Rex Martin, State Government Relations manager at Syngenta Crop Protection.

Martin said any decision on changing the label requirements would be up to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Syngenta Crop Protection has done some studies in Europe that suggest the waiting period could be shortened. EPA may or may not accept relevant data from outside the U.S. that demonstrates a shorter window is acceptable.

"We cannot speculate on their decision," Martin said.

Meanwhile, farmers in Kansas are breathing a sigh of relief as the KDA currently is not placing any restrictions on harvest.

Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304, or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com. Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com.

7/7/08
1 Star WK\5-B

Date: 7/2/08

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