June 30, 2008
Contact:
Lisa Taylor
Director of Communications
Kansas Department of Agriculture
(785) 296-2653
ltaylor@kda.state.ks.us
Test results clear wheat in northwest Kansas
TOPEKA - Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky announced today that based on test results from grain samples collected in northwest Kansas that he will ask that embargoes on 40 wheat fields be lifted.Some of the samples showed no detectible traces of Quilt fungicide residue at all, while others showed levels below the tolerance established 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 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 today 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, a fungicide similar to Quilt that requires a 40-day waiting period between application and harvest.
Early last week 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 last Wednesday when tests showed no detectible traces of Quilt fungicide residue on wheat samples pulled from those fields. Embargoes on two fields in Ellis and Jefferson counties were lifted Thursday when test results again revealed no detectible traces of Quilt's active ingredients.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture currently is not placing any restrictions on harvest. However, they remind producers that failing to abide by a preharvest interval violates state and federal law and opens the producer to enforcement action.