Extruded Corn: A highly digestible alternative to DDGS
There is no doubt that we are living in challenging times. With recent events around the world and uncertainty in the marketplace, day-to-day decision-making is tough. One of the things to consider in daily management is the supply chain management of ingredients coming into your operation. In recent news, we have seen that the ethanol industry has been hit hard by the excess global supply of oil and gas inventories. With that being said, U.S. ethanol companies are idling back production. What that means to us is less availability of DDGS feed. What can we replace DDGS with?
One thing to consider is Hi-Gel™ Corn. Hi-Gel™ Corn is a highly digestible, high-quality, value-added product that can be used in a variety of ways. Hi-Gel™ Corn works well in dairy rations to stimulate microbial protein as well as to reduce the overall need for ground corn, steam-flaked corn or DDGS.
Hi-Gel™ Corn is a fairly simple process. Ground corn is processed through a uniquely designed high-shear extruder. Once it exits the cooking barrel it will enter a cutter head to cut the corn into smaller discs or puffs. Then the Hi-Gel™ Corn is ready for cooling and transport to the storage area.
The finished Hi-Gel™ Corn will be a more consistent product compared to DDGS. In addition, Hi-Gel™ Corn has better gelatinization compared to regular ground corn (25% gelatinization for ground corn compared to Insta-Pro’s Hi-Gel™ Corn with 91% gelatinization). This means greater use of starch for animal nutrition needs.
As always, please consult with your nutritionist first when considering any changes in diets. If you have any questions about Hi-Gel™ Corn or our equipment that processes it, please don’t hesitate to contact us or our nutrition team at Insta-Pro. We would be glad to help.
