Flaked Corn

Why Flaked Corn?

NSC is proud to offer flaked corn in two bushel weight densities, 24 lbs and 32 lbs, for dairy and calf feeds respectively.

Flaked corn offers several advantages to ground corn and is often fed best in combination with ground corn, thus allowing fermentation profiles, (degradation pools) in the rumen. This is especially important for high producing cows with higher rates of passage and greater dry matter intake (DMI). Flaked corn offers greater starch digestibility, thus when included in a tight dairy ration, provides more room for other ingredients, like forage, allowing producers to maximize starch contribution while cutting down cost.

Flaked Corn

Flaked corn has less shrink than ground, dusty corn. When loaded in a bay of large modern herds, there is less waste, both on the loading pad and coming off of the loader bucket. In rations that tend to be a bit drier, over 52% DM, ground corn can sift to the bottom of the bunk. The ration is balanced for a certain level of starch that isn’t attained if the refusals are swept away and the granules remain. Flaked corn by its nature is easier for the cow to consume and is much less likely to be left behind in the refusals.

Flaked corn is the preferred delivery of starch in calf starters. A good calf starter has roughly 60% corn and 6-7% molasses with a sturdy protein and nutrient rich pellet that calves can easily consume. It is extremely hard to make a durable nutrient dense pellet with 60% corn that can be texturized (coated in molasses and oils). Flaked corn allows more flexibility in the formulation of a nutrient rich calf grain that meets all of the needs of calves.

What are the benefits of Flaked Corn?

Nutritionists in the West have long known the value of Steam Flaked corn as the cost per unit starch is much higher than in the Midwest and Northeast. Research has demonstrated that Starch digestibility and Milk Yield are statistically increased in the diets of dairy cows fed Steam Flaked corn vs. ground corn. "Effects of Feeding Ground Corn, Flaked Corn and Steam Rolled Grain on the Performance of Dairy Cows. P. Yu etal. Journal of Dairy Science, 1998