Abstract
Finishing heifers were fed diets containing either conventional (18% moisture) or highmoisture (36% moisture) steam-flaked corn. Increasing moisture concentration in flakes increased starch availability (P<0.01), but feeding heifers high-moisture flakes decreased (P<0.05) dry matter intake and average daily gain compared to heifers fed conventional flakes. Feeding heifers high-moisture flakes also numerically reduced hot carcass weight and ribeye area, but caused (P<0.01) heifers to deposit more fat over their 12th rib. Extreme levels of moisture in flaked corn improve starch availability but do not appear to increase heifer performance or carcass value. The interaction between moisture and flake density needs further evaluation.
Highlights
Many feedlots equipped with steamflaking mills apply moisture to corn prior to steaming to aid in the flake manufacturing process
Increasing moisture concentration in flakes increased starch availability (P
The average loads placed on the flaker were 27.6 and 28.2 amps when flaking the high-moisture and conventional corn sources, respectively
Summary
Many feedlots equipped with steamflaking mills apply moisture to corn prior to steaming to aid in the flake manufacturing process. Moisture levels of grain are closely monitored and altered to improve consistency of the final product, reduce fine particles, and decrease equipment maintenance. Moisture is an essential component of starch gelatinization. For complete gelatinization of starch to occur, moisture must accompany starch in a ratio of at least 2:1. Moisture concentration of corn prior to flaking generally ranges from 16 to 24%. Improving the gelatinization of starch by increasing the moisture content of corn prior to flaking may result in improvements in cattle performance. Our objective was to evaluate the performance of heifers fed steamflaked corn-based diets containing flakes of 18 or 36% moisture
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