Iowa Floods of 2010: A Guide to Handling Damaged or Contaminated Grain

October 8, 2010
ICM News

by Erin Herbold, Center of Agricultural Law and Taxation

In an article posted October 7 on the Center of Agricultural Law and Taxation (CALT) website, staff attorney Erin Herbold outlines the legal background and details of the statement made by the Iowa Department of Agricultural and Land Stewardship (IDALS) regarding the harvest of flood-damaged grain in Iowa.

On Sept. 30, IDALS warned farmers to keep flood-impacted grain separate from other harvested grain. In Iowa, "adulterated" grain cannot be used for human or animal consumption. IDALS recommended that adulterated grain in fields and bins should be destroyed. In certain situations, however, grain may be used or "reconditioned" if it is found that the flood-water was not contaminated or that the grain was not contaminated. 

"Iowa farmers must follow certain prescribed steps with respect to water-damaged grain in order to make a determination of whether grain is adulterated or not," Herold says in the article. "In addition, adulterated grain may give rise to other legal complications involving crop insurance and contract issues."

Herbold continues by outline related Iowa Law, Interaction with Federal Government and other legal issues. The full text of Herbold's article is available on the CALT website.

For precautions to take harvesting flooded grain, also refer to Flooded Grain and Other Harvest Issues by Charles Hurburgh, October 3 ICM News article.

Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Integrated Crop Management News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on October 8, 2010. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.

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