Review : Effects of Corn Processing on Nutrient Utilization in Ruminants

반추가축에 있어서 옥수수 알곡의 가공이 영양소 이용에 미치는 영향에 관한 고찰

Through out the last few decades, processing methods for ingredients of feed grains, such as grinding, flaking, extrusion, soaking, cracking etc., have been adopted in order to improve the nutrient digestibility in ruminants. Among feed grains, processing methods for whole corns have been the most frequently studied since corns are utilized as the thumb ingredients in formulating feeds. In these days, flaking of whole corns is the most incessantly used in formulation feeds, resulting in enhancing the performance of ruminants. Recently formulating non-forage feed for beef cattle, especially Holsteins, without processing whole corns is carrying out through various feed companies with expectations of whole corns acting like forages. However, it can not be ruled out that whole corns might possibly result in decreasing the productivity due to the depression of nutrient utilizations. Therefore, one must reevaluate the non-forage feeds as well as makes an effort to develop the rational and effective methodology in processing whole corns with the consideration of rumen eco-system.