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8 THE RURAL VOICE
Scrap Book
Cool corn could make farmers money
University of Guelph researchers,
with support of the Ontario Corn
Producers' Association and Casco, are
working on a method to store higher -
moisture corn and save farmers the
high cost of drying.
While corn is often harvested in
late September and early October at
20-30 per cent moisture, then artific-
ially dried down to 15 per cent to
prevent spoilage while being stored,
the U. of G. experiment sees corn
harvested at the end of October at 20
per cent moisture, then stored under
cool conditions. Casco is interested in
the project because it actually has to
add water to dry corn before it can
process it. If it received higher
moisture corn, it could save money.
The higher moisture corn is kept
cool by being stored in a full -floor
aerated bin and the temperature is kept
low using an aeration controller. The
controller, developed by Prof. Ralph
Brown and Ken Bennett, is a grain
bin's "black box". Its function is
similar to that of a thermostat, attach-
ing to the side of a bin and regulating
fan operation in damp corn storage. It
eliminates the guesswork in manage-
ment. Data is collected through attach-
ments to temperature cable running
the length of the bin's interior. The
data is then stored, so that a temper-
ature profile can be downloaded for
future management purposes.
The aeration fan is needed only
when the temperature of the corn
threatens to climb out of the 0-5
degrees C range at which the corn can
be stored safely. Brown estimates
farmers can save up to 29 cents per
bushel of corn on energy costs.
In addition, undried corn doesn't
have the problems with kernel crack-
ing that drying causes, a result that
reduces the premium producers will
pay.
But so far, companies still won't
pay a premium for the higher -moisture
corn, even though it is considered a
premium product. There's also a
problem in that Ontario's climate
allows higher -moisture storage only
from the onset of cool weather in fall
until sometime in mid-March.
Depending on the market, it may not
be an optimal time to sell the crop.
Still, after the first year of research
on eight farms in eastern and
southwestern Ontario with a total of
1200 acres of higher -moisture corn,
the research team called the project a
total success. The entire harvest was
stored for the winter months and
shipped to processors without event.
And the word of the success has
spread to other growers.
"It's become so popular that last
year, we had to turn away farmers
who were interested in participating in
the research," said Brown.0
— Source: University of Guelph
Research magazine
So pigs like chips — how about beer?
If humans can pig -out on junk food, why not pigs? An Ohio State University
says feeding pigs potato chips can be a cheaper alternative feed to corn for
raising pigs.
Two Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute researchers found that it
doesn't matter if it's barbecue, sour cream and onion or plain — potato chips are
the snack of choice for pigs. Not only is the wholesale price of potato chip scraps
cheaper than corn, but the chips provide pigs with a higher energy diet.
Sha Rahnema and Ronald Borton have found that consistently replacing 12.5
per cent of corn feed with potato chip scraps during the nursery, growing and
finishing stages of pigs, provides optimum performance in dry matter intake,
average daily weight gain and the number of days required for pigs to reach
market weight. The finding is the latest in a series of studies since 1995 focusing
on the effects potato chip scraps have on pigs. The scraps are off-colour and
burned chips that nobody wants — sort of the rants of the litter.
So what would a pork chop taste like after a pig had been munching on
jalapeno-flavoured or vinegar -flavoured chips? A taste -testing panel couldn't tell
the difference, Rahnema said.0
—Source: Ohio State University press release