The tubular part of the digestive tract that holds the partially digested contents and where breakdown takes place.

Gut lumen

A young pig being fattened for slaughter.

Grower/finisher

A mycotoxin produced by moulds such as Aspergillus fumigatus. It causes cell death and is a strong immunosuppressant when ingested by animals. If an animal is exposed to the mycotoxin for a long period of time, its toxicity will be accelerated. Cattle with mastitis that are unable to be treated may be the due to ingestion of gliotoxin.

Gliotoxin

Moulds most commonly found contaminating crops in the field (pre-harvest). Fusarium moulds produce a range of different mycotoxins when stressed and are capable of contaminating a range of different crops.

Fusarium sp.

Mycotoxins that are classified as non-trichothecence mycotoxins, produced by Fusarium moulds. Common fumonisins include fumonisin B1, fumonisin B2 and fumonisin B3, with fumonisin B1 being the most common. A wide range of crops can be contaminated with fumonisins, including maize, barley and wheat.

Fumonisins

Plants, other than grain, grown to be fed to livestock.

Forage

Feedstuffs given to livestock, usually hay, straw, silage or concentrates.

Fodder

Fungi that invade the crop while it is still in the field (pre-harvest). These fungi include the Fusarium species and some Aspergillus species. They generally require higher moisture levels than storage fungi.

Field fungi

A toxic reaction in the body of animals that have ingested tall fescue infected with endophytes that produce the toxin ergovaline. Tall fescue is a major forage grass found in America in central and south-eastern states. In cattle signs of fescue toxicosis include low conception rates, low milk production, reduced weight gain, hyperthermia in the summer.

Fescue toxicosis

The chemical breakdown of a substance, e.g silage, by microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and fungi in the absence of oxygen. Various sugars are broken down by the fermentation process to a variety of end products, usually acids, gases and alcohols. Reaction also produces heat.

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