Wheat harvested from five fields in Cowley County is included in a grain embargo issued by the state Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Agriculture. It is the first such embargo for Kansas since 2001.
The embargo ? which was issued by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment ? keeps the affected wheat from being moved or mixed with other wheat until it can be tested.
Testing is expected to take two days or less, according to Lisa Taylor, public information officer for the department of agriculture.
Overall, the embargo affects grain at three grain elevators and wheat from 20 fields covering 1,545 acres in Butler, Cowley, Harper, Kingman, Reno, Sedgwick and Sumner Counties. The five fields locally consist of about 296 acres.
"We’ve attempted to contact everyone by phone to let them know," Taylor said. "We’ve had to move quickly with harvest beginning to really pick up."
The departments of agriculture and health and environment issued the embargoes for fields where there are questions about late applications of Quilt, a fungicide that requires a 45-day waiting period between application and harvest.
Producers were identified through commercial applicator records. When the state learned that some grain had made it to elevators in Hutchinson, Wellington and Garden Plain, the embargo was extended to wheat at those facilities.
"All of our farmers have been very cooperative through this process," Taylor said.
The active ingredients have a low toxicity in humans, according to the department of agriculture. However, residue must not exceed established federal limits.
The department of health and environment has the authority to institute embargoes to protect the state’s food supply. Testing on the suspect grain should be completed by week’s end.
