Changes and evolution of corn coproducts for beef cattle

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Animal Nutrition
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Ethanol production generates valuable coproducts, with ongoing innovation to optimize their nutritional composition and efficiency.
• Corn fractionation technologies are emerging to enhance the value and utility of coproducts like distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore innovative corn fractionation technologies for optimizing ethanol coproducts.
• To evaluate the nutritional improvements and potential new feed products derived from corn fractionation.

Main Methods:

• Development of wet and dry corn fractionation techniques to remove germ, pericarp fiber, or endosperm fiber before fermentation.
• Implementation of post-fermentation oil removal (centrifugation or solvent extraction) and pericarp fiber recovery (sieving and aspiration).
• Evaluation of a novel coproduct, bran cake, in beef finishing diets.

Main Results:

• Fractionation significantly reduces DDGS yield while increasing its protein content.
• New coproducts like bran cake (corn bran and distillers solubles) show promise.
• Bran cake inclusion in finishing diets improved body weight gains and feed efficiency, with corn bran offering substantial energy value.

Conclusions:

• Corn fractionation technologies offer a pathway to enhanced nutritional profiles and novel coproducts for the animal feed industry.
• Economic viability will drive the adoption of these advanced milling and fractionation processes over traditional methods.