# Feed corn for people



## Explorer

Can feed corn that comes in 50# bags be used for human food? To make corn meal and such.


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## Ohio Rusty

If I was out of food and had 50 pound bags of feed corn, I'd use it in a heart beat !! Corn meal is made from feed corn, not sweet corn. When I asked at the local grainery about using it for eating, the worker said it was pretty dirty for grinding/eating purposes. What I would do is rinse it well and let it dry completely. I would think it would be OK then. Corn is hard shelled, and it would be difficult for pestisides and other nasties to enter into the heart of the kernal after it is dry. During the rinsing process, you could also examine the kernals and pick out any bad looking ones that you would not eat.

If that is all I had, I would not hesitate to use if for human food.
Ohio Rusty ><>


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## edcopp

The trick is to raise it yourself, then you know what you have.

I am sure that rats, mice and various kinds of birds can be found in about all corn storage facilities. Most people do not want to talk about small animals, birds, poop, poison and so on. I am sure that it is a fact of life everywhere. Reasonable care would go a long way toward making good clean corn meal.


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## Ann-NWIowa

Corn is raised on chemicals and many varieties are franken freaky hybrids such as "Round-up Ready". I'd stick with human food products. I can buy 12Â½ lb. bags of popcorn at a local restaurant supply place for $5.29. Either white or yellow corn. It can be ground for corn flour or popped as per usual. It can also be popped in the microwave. Popcorn can also be used as a breakfast cereal.

Only if starvation lurked would I resort to corn (or other grain) from an unknown source.


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## stranger

Explorer said:


> Can feed corn that comes in 50# bags be used for human food? To make corn meal and such.


 I use the same corn that is sold to people for chickens and cows. 10 dollars a hundred compared to 13.50 for 25# at Bobs Red Mill.. farmers aren't spraying anything on the corn that is not safe for humans and animals.
the cows and chickens eat the corn and we eat the animals.
one field is not for animals and the other for humans, it goes to the highest bidder.
corn that goes for humans is just sorted a little better and at the price they get, it should be. I also sort what i get at the farm just like i would dry beans bought at the store, no big deal, just time consuming.
just make sure it's not seed corn, that has been treated


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## stranger

Ann-NWIowa said:


> Corn is raised on chemicals and many varieties are franken freaky hybrids such as "Round-up Ready". I'd stick with human food products. I can buy 12Â½ lb. bags of popcorn at a local restaurant supply place for $5.29. Either white or yellow corn. It can be ground for corn flour or popped as per usual. It can also be popped in the microwave. Popcorn can also be used as a breakfast cereal.
> 
> Only if starvation lurked would I resort to corn (or other grain) from an unknown source.


wow, that's 42 dollars a 100 and i can guarantee you that mice, raccoons and birds have been all over it, things have improved some over the yrs, but not that much.


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## Guest

Generally I advise against the use of feed grains for human consumption.

But if you're determined to do this then inquire if it's rated for use with poultry and/or dairy animals. The mycotoxin limits for poultry and dairy as the same limits for humans. Corn intended for use for deer, beef animals, and other uses may have higher allowable mycotoxin limits. If the source isn't sure then I'd pass on that grain. In the United States mycotoxins are rarely acutely toxic. Their dangers are more subtle and may not be known for years, but they are there.

Feed grain is often dirtier than grains meant for human consumption, but dirty is something one can usually clean up at home. Fungal contaminations on the other hand cannot. The grain either has less than the allowable mycotoxin limit or it does not.

.....Alan.


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## cvk

There are places to cut corners and save money that are logical and some that are not. I am absolutely not interested in risking my health or well being to save $32 on a 100 pound sack of grain. Of all of the unnecessary things that we spend money on everyday the last thing we should scrimp on is the quality of our food. I'd give up this internet connection before I would choose to take the chance of feeding children livestock food. The money saved by removing internet access would go a long long way toward clean people food.


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## Explorer

Thanks for the replies. Next week when I go to town, I'll stop at the feed store and check.


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## stranger

cvk said:


> There are places to cut corners and save money that are logical and some that are not. I am absolutely not interested in risking my health or well being to save $32 on a 100 pound sack of grain. Of all of the unnecessary things that we spend money on everyday the last thing we should scrimp on is the quality of our food. I'd give up this internet connection before I would choose to take the chance of feeding children livestock food. The money saved by removing internet access would go a long long way toward clean people food.


to each, their own, i eat what i want to and my kids feed their kids what they want to.. and you can believe that i don't need to worry about saving any money and neither do i buy any unnecessary things.
finding out what's in the corn and how it is grown is a simple matter of asking a question.
i certianly it don't happen here, but there are a lot of people that are going to be eating things that would turn their stomach today.


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## spiffydave

stranger said:


> i certianly it don't happen here, but there are a lot of people that are going to be eating things that would turn their stomach today.


I agree with this statement, but if I'm going to buy corn to store for the next 0 - 25 years, then I want to store the best quality corn I can find. If it costs a bit more I think that'd be worth it on the day - x years in the future - that I open that barrel of corn with the hope of feeding my family.

I bought a 50 lb bag of feed corn in order to grind my own corn meal, but no one at the feed store or the manufacturer (Cargill) could verify the mycotoxin or other properties of the corn. I gave it to a friend that has chickens, geese and goats and then bought some organic dent corn from the local co-op. Quite a bit more expensive, but now I know exactly what I'm eating.


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## cvk

Okay, let's clarify this. Is livestock corn a reasonable alternative to starvation? Yes, if certain starvation is about to take place it would be smart to eat livestock food hoping that it was safe. Is livestock suitable for eating--if it were food grade it would be labeled as suitable for human consumption. If anybody wants to cut corners and eat it then that is their business but I am not going to advise anybody to eat livestock grade grain or to prep with livestock grade grain when they have the money and time to get more suitable food for their preps. It is not logical that we would lead anyone to believe that animal feed is suitable for human consumption. If you want to eat it fine but don't encourage anyone else to play roulette with their health.


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## westbrook

Be sure to ask for recleaned grains. This is grains that have been cleaned a couple if times. It is cleaner then field run... which is full of rocks, dirt and chaff.

there is a difference between seed and livestock grain. seed usually is coated in a fungus inhibitor and not edible.. livestock grain is edible.

I use it all of the time. I purchase rolled oats, wheat, corn. The corn isn't pretty.. it is large and a pain to grind! but it makes a great corn flour or meal.

If it is good enough to feed to my livestock then it is good enough for me! 

I am not recommending anyone run out and purchase it.. do your homework, talk to the feed store. See if they can order what you are looking for. If one won't check with others.


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## cvk

Some people can in their ovens and some can green beans and meat in a water bath canner. It is about the same thing--if that is what they want to do that is their right but nobody should recommend it to anyone else.


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## FirefighterEd

I'm not a real frequent poster on this site but I want/need to add a couple thoughts on this topic. I truly do not want to offend anyone. 

That "human" corn that you're paying 4x the $ for came out of the same grain bin (storage tank) as the "livestock" corn for 1/4th the $. I come from many generations of farmers and grew up raising over 1000 acres of grain a year. There is NO distinction between "human" and "livestock" grains until it gets to the mill that is going to grind it. They will then clean the grains that are going to be used for corn meal or grits better than what's going into livestock food. 

Cargill is not a manufacturer, they buy a commodity and resell it. 

Eddie


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## stranger

FirefighterEd said:


> I'm not a real frequent poster on this site but I want/need to add a couple thoughts on this topic. I truly do not want to offend anyone.
> 
> That "human" corn that you're paying 4x the $ for came out of the same grain bin (storage tank) as the "livestock" corn for 1/4th the $. I come from many generations of farmers and grew up raising over 1000 acres of grain a year. There is NO distinction between "human" and "livestock" grains until it gets to the mill that is going to grind it. They will then clean the grains that are going to be used for corn meal or grits better than what's going into livestock food.
> 
> Cargill is not a manufacturer, they buy a commodity and resell it.
> 
> Eddie


 exactly right, i hauled for Cargil and ADM and where I dumped the load depended on the high bidder, some people just don't get it though,
Now i'm not telling anyone to eat corn out of the same corn crib that their cows and chickens do just because i do it, anyone that has been on a farm can tell if their corn is moldy, it's not that hard to do, just the musty smell would tell most people. any corn can get moldy , just let it set in a high hummity or damp place.
the corn field is sprayed with a weed killer and the same weed killer that sweet corn fields are sprayed with.
it's like the farmer down the road putting an organic sign on his produce and I wonder why his land is organic and mine isn't, we both used the same chemicals and fertilizer for yrs, our tractors leaked the same oil and grease on the land, neither of us do now but his is organic, mine isn't, because i haven't taken my own samples out to the farm bureau and got it certified. even the stuff he buys elsewere is labeled organic.
organic=(money)
for human use=(money)


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## Guest

FirefighterEd said:


> I'm not a real frequent poster on this site but I want/need to add a couple thoughts on this topic. I truly do not want to offend anyone.
> 
> That "human" corn that you're paying 4x the $ for came out of the same grain bin (storage tank) as the "livestock" corn for 1/4th the $. I come from many generations of farmers and grew up raising over 1000 acres of grain a year. There is NO distinction between "human" and "livestock" grains until it gets to the mill that is going to grind it. They will then clean the grains that are going to be used for corn meal or grits better than what's going into livestock food.
> 
> Cargill is not a manufacturer, they buy a commodity and resell it.
> 
> Eddie


 And when it gets to the mill it is tested for fungal contamination. There are limits to the amount of contamination that corn and any other grain can contain for certain purposes. Yep, it all comes out of the same bin and if that bin tests too high for aflatoxin none of it is going to legally go into the human food chain nor likely for many types of feed use either because when it starts sickening and killing the animals it's fed to someone is going to lose their shirt in the courts.

.....Alan.


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## kerslo

A.T. Hagan said:


> And when it gets to the mill it is tested for fungal contamination. There are limits to the amount of contamination that corn and any other grain can contain for certain purposes. Yep, it all comes out of the same bin and if that bin tests too high for aflatoxin none of it is going to legally go into the human food chain nor likely for many types of feed use either because when it starts sickening and killing the animals it's fed to someone is going to lose their shirt in the courts.
> 
> .....Alan.


I would like to ask you Alan, which mill tests for contamination? And what quantities are the samples for the tests taken from? Is it a repetitible laboratory? There are too many variables for us to know if this is even done or how often this is done. I don't buy it. No one can know for sure if this is done or you are paying for extra packaging.


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## haypoint

In Michigan lots of folks feed wild deer. Many gas stations have bags of bruised apples, odd shaped carrots, sugar beets and shelled corn, sitting on pallets in plastic bags between the pumps or outside the building. I'd be concerned about mold on those bags.
I have seen feed stores mix up Sweet Feed for horses and use the molasses to cover the moldy corn.
I have seen farmers barely get their corn down to the dryness level to prevent mold and I have seen hoppers filled with bright yellow corn. So, if I could see it and it wasn't all dusty and wasn't straight from the combine (had the rocks and cob and weed seeds cleaned out) it would make fine corn meal.


Ann-NWIowa said:


> Corn is raised on chemicals and many varieties are franken freaky hybrids such as "Round-up Ready". I'd stick with human food products. I can buy 12Â½ lb. bags of popcorn at a local restaurant supply place for $5.29. Either white or yellow corn. It can be ground for corn flour or popped as per usual. It can also be popped in the microwave. Popcorn can also be used as a breakfast cereal.


Over 90% of the corn grown in the US is "franken freaky". As such, there is a very good chance that long before the ears appeared, the weeds were killed and no chemicals applied after that. Also, no insecticides used on "franken freaky" corn with the organic BT gene, so no chemicals/insecticides and no corn worms in your corn meal. 99% of the corn grown in the US is hybrid, including your popcorn. Has been for 80 years or so.


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## big rockpile

Explorer said:


> Can feed corn that comes in 50# bags be used for human food? To make corn meal and such.


We use Feed Corn for Hominy, Mush and Meal.

big rockpile


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## CajunSunshine

haypoint said:


> In Michigan lots of folks feed wild deer. Many gas stations have bags of bruised apples, odd shaped carrots, sugar beets and shelled corn, sitting on pallets in plastic bags between the pumps or outside the building. I'd be concerned about mold on those bags.
> I have seen feed stores mix up Sweet Feed for horses and use the molasses to cover the moldy corn.
> I have seen farmers barely get their corn down to the dryness level to prevent mold and I have seen hoppers filled with bright yellow corn. So, if I could see it and it wasn't all dusty and wasn't straight from the combine (had the rocks and cob and weed seeds cleaned out) it would make fine corn meal.



Haypoint, thank you for this boots-on-the-ground report. It is something I have often wondered about!


.


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## Bearfootfarm

kerslo said:


> I would like to ask you Alan, which mill tests for contamination? And what quantities are the samples for the tests taken from? Is it a repetitible laboratory? There are too many variables for us to know if this is even done or how often this is done. I don't buy it. No one can know for sure if this is done or you are paying for extra packaging.


It's all covered under USDA and FDA regulations.
You can find the answers to your questions by searching their sites.
The person you asked no longer appears to be an active member and the thread is nearly 10 years old.


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## CajunSunshine

kerslo said:


> I would like to ask you Alan, which mill tests for contamination? And what quantities are the samples for the tests taken from? Is it a repetitible laboratory? There are too many variables for us to know if this is even done or how often this is done. I don't buy it. No one can know for sure if this is done or you are paying for extra packaging.



I believe Alan only pops in here occasionally and may not be around to notice your question... 

If you can't easily get test results, you might want to consider another tactic that many take: 

Buy only from established, reputable companies and keep the grain perfectly dry. I'm banking on the idea that millions of users of a brand with no history of complaints can't be wrong, and Google everything thoroughly before buying...


.


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## anniew

I worked in an independent farm store years ago. We sold 100 bags of feed. I was a cashier mostly, but one time I went to the "warehouse" part of the store where the feed was kept, and one pile of bags (more like the older cloth-like material) was crawling with maggots. Disgusting...but you never know what storage is like.


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## HermitJohn

Be aware this is industrial corn, first and foremost developed for highest yields possible, taste not a consideration. the food processing companies that use it in human food products extensively process it and add all kinds things to mask the flavor.

In other words this is not grandpa's outback corn patch of open pollinated corn varieties traditionally used for human consumption.

I have tasted it and to me it has a weird off-taste. No this wasnt some moldy mess that some animal pooped on, this was clean dent corn common in the midwest. There are perfectly fine older varieties of dent corn, but personally I like flint corn for corn meal. Before I gave up grain because of the diabetes, I used to grow the old multi colored open pollinated Indian corn (flint) to grind for corn meal. This didnt have any weird industrial off tastes. It tasted like real corn.

But if you are bordering on starvation, I doubt this industrial corn will harm you. I imagine however buying feed store wheat would make your taste buds a lot happier. Dont eat any grain showing signs of mold. And I wouldnt bother with dirty grain though you can wash it, just lot trouble if its very dirty.


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## HermitJohn

anniew said:


> I worked in an independent farm store years ago. We sold 100 bags of feed. I was a cashier mostly, but one time I went to the "warehouse" part of the store where the feed was kept, and one pile of bags (more like the older cloth-like material) was crawling with maggots. Disgusting...but you never know what storage is like.


Wet corn deteriorates quickly. I imagine either this wasnt properly dried or else it got wet in some other manner.


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## kerslo

anniew said:


> I worked in an independent farm store years ago. We sold 100 bags of feed. I was a cashier mostly, but one time I went to the "warehouse" part of the store where the feed was kept, and one pile of bags (more like the older cloth-like material) was crawling with maggots. Disgusting...but you never know what storage is like.


I agree it has to do with how they are kept. I believe you can buy the most delicious expensive pizza such as deep dish chicago but if you don't store it properly it will go to waste. Price tag will not affect the quality if the item is improperly stored. I just made a huge batch of masa from feed corn. And I am not gonna lie, it smelled delicious and it was the most amazing freshest tamales I have had in a long time. The feed store gave me a dry bag and the kernels were cleaned by me, then went through the elaborate process of nixtamalization. The same exact process for popcorn corn. Tastes exactly the same. I made so many items with the masa. Corn bread, tortillas, tamales, sopes, tostadas, corn chips, hominy, hummus even doggy buscuits for my dogs. They loved it!!! I wish I known this when I was dead broke.


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## haypoint

There are numerous strains of corn. High lysine comes to mind. If you were really fussy, you'd be able to detect fine changes in flavor from variety to variety.. But if you don't mind grinding pop corn, you can't be too fussy about taste. Rest assured that while various hybrids may taste different, GMO isn't changing the flavor.


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## Fishindude

The fear of Roundup poisoning humans is ridiculously over stated.
Roundup is applied at about 26 oz per acre in the spring when the corn is real short to kill weeds. An acre might yield 150 bushels (275 or more in high yield areas). This 100# sack of shelled grain represents about 2 bushels or 1.3% of the yield on an acre. Only .338 oz of Roundup was sprayed on the area that grew that 100# (1/3 of a shot glass). 

Now figure that corn is planted on 30" row centers so the majority of that Roundup never even hits the corn plants, it hits the weeds between rows, so out of that 1/3 shot maybe 20% of such hit the corn plants that produced your 100#. Now factor in that it is sprayed on the plants in their infancy, way before the ears are ever developed and that you will have months of rain and weather for that little bit of Roundup to dissipate. The amount of Roundup you would actually ingest is close to zero. You probably are much worse exposed when you spray it around your house killing driveway weeds.


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## anniew

How did this get to be about Roundup and GMO?
I'm surprised politics and religion didn't get involved.
Too many personal agendas.


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## CajunSunshine

Bearfootfarm said:


> The person you asked no longer appears to be an active member


Alan was here 3 months ago in this forum, on a thread he started about refreshing stale gas... 

https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/refreshing-stale-gas.565760/


.


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## Bearfootfarm

CajunSunshine said:


> Alan was here 3 months ago in this forum, on a thread he started about refreshing stale gas...


Yeah, I remember that thread.
On post #7 in this thread though it says,










> A.T. Hagan
> *Guest*


and his name isn't an active link like all the rest, but it is on other threads.
There's some sort of anomaly going on.


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## haypoint

anniew said:


> How did this get to be about Roundup and GMO?
> I'm surprised politics and religion didn't get involved.
> Too many personal agendas.


In the 4th post in this discussion, "Corn is raised on chemicals and many varieties are franken freaky hybrids such as "Round-up Ready". I'd stick with human food products."
I'd think that if you were buying corn to feed your family, you'd want to know the facts and not get misled with franken freeky nonsense.


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## Clarkeugene

FirefighterEd said:


> I'm not a real frequent poster on this site but I want/need to add a couple thoughts on this topic. I truly do not want to offend anyone.
> 
> That "human" corn that you're paying 4x the $ for came out of the same grain bin (storage tank) as the "livestock" corn for 1/4th the $. I come from many generations of farmers and grew up raising over 1000 acres of grain a year. There is NO distinction between "human" and "livestock" grains until it gets to the mill that is going to grind it. They will then clean the grains that are going to be used for corn meal or grits better than what's going into livestock food.
> 
> Cargill is not a manufacturer, they buy a commodity and resell it.
> 
> Eddie


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## Clarkeugene

Thanks for the valuable information. I had suspected that there was merely a cleaning issue involved here.


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## Clarkeugene

Thanks for the valuable information. I had suspected that there was merely a cleaning issue involved here.


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