To our mink feed clients:
As of June 2022 the NDSU-VDL no longer performs mink feed cultures. Extensive labor is required to process and interpret results due to the wide variety of sample submissions, which are often inappropriate for culture. For example, cheese naturally contains good bacteria and should be positive for bacterial organisms. Although culture can be a good indicator of feed quality, it is difficult to determine if the bacteria present are pathogenic or incidental. In addition, traditional culture methods will not capture other organisms of concern, such as Clostridium limosum or mycotoxins from fungus.