Quality assessment of corn batches received at a feed mill in the brazilian cerrado

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating factors that contribute to changes in the quality of corn used in compound poultry feeds. Samples were collected from 6488 bulk cargos received at a feed mill located close to Brasília, Brazil. The parameters studied were divided into two groups: those related to corn chemical composition, including crude protein (% CP), ether extract (% EE), crude fiber (% CF), nitrogen-free extract (% NFE), and estimated metabolizable energy (ME), and corn physical characteristics, including density, moisture, and grain physical damage. High coefficients of determination (R 2 ) and low coefficients of variation (CV) were determined for the chemical and physical parameters. The analysis of variance showed low to medium R 2 . Month, year, supplier, and their interactions influenced (p <0.05) all chemical properties, as well as density, moisture, and ME. Physical characteristics were less affected by those factors, except for quantity of damaged grains. The principal component analysis separated the physical and chemical factors. The coefficients of the first component explained 54% of the total variation between variables. The first principal component showed that NFE and ME increased as humidity decreased. The second component also showed a decrease of physical problems due to reduction in humidity. Results indicate that the feed mills should take preventive measures when selecting suppliers, and diets should be formulated according to the differences in chemical and physical composition of corn supplied in different months and years.

Prediction of apparent metabolizable energy and metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen of corn according to physical classification of the grain

“…Low-quality grains showed more damage, more problems such as fragmented, broken, and grains infected by beetles, but little difference in density. The results of physical composition and grain moisture affected the corn chemical and energy content, as demonstrated by Rodrigues et al (2014), Costa et al (2015), and Hruby (2015), as corn hybrids and broiler age of determination can affect the energy content, similar to the observed in the experiment conducted by Kato et al (2011).…”

Chemical and Energetic Content of Corn Before and After Pre-Cleaning

“…Therefore, the ingredient quality control component of a poultry feed mill operation is an important first step in assuring a healthy diet for the birds. Alterations in the quality of feedstuffs in Brazil are some of the most important problems that the animal food industry faces and can affect feed quality and therefore animal performance (2) . Corn is the crop which occupies the largest cultivated area in Brazil and is used in both human and animal nutrition.…”

“…Mechanical damage in grain can occur during harvesting, drying, transport and cleaning, which may give rise to cracked and damaged grains. A series of questions should be taken in to account in the feed mill including excess humidity, presence of cracked and damaged grains, weed seeds, fire-burnt, foreign material, mould and aflatoxins (2,5) . These authors reiterate that if the corn is analyzed when it is received in the mill, 90% of the problems can be detected and they highlight the importance of the pre-cleaning analysis.…”

Association of the severity of tongue lesions in broiler chickens with the quality of corn in feed

“…Furthermore, the percentage of damaged grains was positively correlated with the presence of zearalenone, percentage of impurities and broken grains, and moisture content, whereas the percentage of impurities was positively correlated with all the evaluated physical parameters of corn. Rodrigues et al (2014) found a similar positive correlation between the undesirable physical characteristics of corn. The authors reported that physical damage increased the moisture content of grains, making them more susceptible to fungal contamination.…”