The Dry Corn Milling Process – J-Six Enterprises
Not only does Fairview Mills handle all of your pet food ingredient storage, dry corn milling and packaging needs – we also partner with you to turn raw ingredients into a usable product! In our pet food milling facilities, we take raw corn kernels and hammer mill them into something you can use!
What Is Corn Milling?
Dry Corn Milling Process
We love corn because corn is versatile. However, in its raw state, much of it is unusable to us. Corn is made up of starches (61%), corn oil (4%), protein (8%), and fiber (11%), with the remaining weight being composed of moisture. Through milling, we can break the corn down into new forms that are more digestible to both humans and animals. Various milling processes can be used to extract and use each of those components in different ways.
Dry Corn Milling Vs. Wet Corn Milling
There are two main processes for milling corn – dry corn milling and wet corn milling. Below, we’ll take you through the basics of both processes, and why we choose the dry corn milling process here at Fairview Mills, a division of J-Six Enterprises.
Wet Corn Milling Process
In the wet corn milling process, corn kernels are soaked in large tanks filled with a sulfur dioxide solution. This softens the kernel, and the germ of the kernel is able to be removed. The germ is then processed separately to extract corn oil, and the resulting germ meal can be added to livestock feed. The kernels themselves are pressed through a series of screens. These screens separate the corn fiber from the corn starch and protein. The starch and protein go into a centrifuge to separate the two. The starches can be used in paper and textile industries, and as food sweeteners. The gluten protein is frequently made into a high protein meal used for animal feed.
Dry Corn Milling Process
Dry Corn Milling Process
Dry corn milling was, for a long time, the only way to mill corn into other products. Instead of creating multiple different products, it produces a medium-to-fine grind meal. This meal, in turn, can be used as food products, animal feed, or fuel ethanol production. Hammers are used to crack, beat, and grind the dry corn kernels into a powder. As the meal travels from coarse to fine, a series of rollers and sifters take away unusable pieces. It’s as simple as that!
Our Milling Process At Fairview Mills
We process corn with a dry corn milling process here at Fairview Mills. Although the wet corn milling process can separate out each of the individual parts of the corn kernel, it is a much more costly process, produces a lower ethanol yield, and doesn’t create the type of fine grain meal that we’re looking for. The wet corn milling process also creates separate products with varying nutrition levels.
Using the dry corn milling process, Fairview Mills can create food-grade products that contain the full nutritional properties of corn. If the meal is intended for livestock or pets, the goal is the same – feeding your animals a corn meal that offers a wide nutritional range. We also want to help produce the ethanol that can ease the strain on our tenuous oil economy. The dry corn milling process helps us achieve these goals.
Fairview Mills sources our whole corn kernels from local grain elevators, or directly from local farmers within a 50 mile radius from our mill in Seneca, KS. Whereas other, bigger dry corn milling facilities might get their grain from all over the country or even overseas, we strive to shorten the supply chain and keep things centralized. We believe that supporting the local agricultural community will benefit everyone.
Uses For Corn Meal
There are many types of corn meal generated through the industrial milling process. Our process yields a product commonly called “dried distillers grains”. This is a medium-to-fine corn meal. It can be used as a livestock feed or introduced into the ethanol production process, or it can be further milled into multiple food products that are beneficial for human consumption.
Food Products for Humans and Pets
We primarily dry mill corn for use as food products for human consumption. The dried distillers grain can be further ground and refined to create many common foods. These include white and yellow corn meals, white and yellow corn grits, white and yellow corn flour, and pregelatinized corn flour. Not only are these foods healthy, affordable, and versatile – they are also gluten-free! Corn does not contain gluten, so for consumers who need to avoid wheat and barley flours, our white corn flour and yellow corn flour are a fantastic alternative. We can also use these corn meals, flours, and grits in the production of a wide range of pet foods.
Livestock Feed
Dried distillers grain is commonly used as feed for swine, poultry, and beef cattle. Because the dry corn milling process allowed the meal to retain it’s full nutritional profile, this dried distillers grain is full of amino acids. It’s also rich in phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur. What does all of this mean for you?
The minerals in the grain meal boost your animal’s immune system.
The specific amino acids found in dried distillers grain boost your poultry’s energy levels, while helping them produce large eggs and supporting their nitrogen levels.
The balanced nutritional profile helps pigs grow quickly and produce leaner meat, without needing you to rely on hormones and antibiotics.
In ruminants such as cattle, digestive fermentation takes this grain meal and turns it into short-chain fatty acids. Those fatty acids lower cholesterol levels and boost gut health.
Ethanol Production
In the production of ethanol, the first step is grinding corn kernels into a meal. At Fairview Mills, a division of J-Six Enterprises, we have that first step covered! We can then transport the grain meal to ethanol producers, who then run it through their production process. Providing ethanol plants with the dried distillers grain cuts out multiple steps from their process. This makes ethanol less expensive to produce, more widely available, and less costly for the consumer.
J-Six Enterprises – A Full Circle Agricultural Company
Fairview Mills is proud to be one of many divisions of J-Six Enterprises. In choosing Fairview Mills for your dry corn milling needs, you have easy access to our wide range of services. This helps you get from raw material to finished product without having to deal with multiple companies along the way! In addition to dry corn milling, J-Six Enterprises will also:
Store your bulk pet food ingredients or bagged products
Handle your pet food ingredient bagging needs
Transload your pet food ingredients from railcar to storage facility
Transport your products directly to your consumer, be that farmer or store
Extrude pet food and pet treats as a contract manufacturer
Create dust-free pellets or crumbles in our pelleting facility
Process corn cobs into multiple corn cob products
We’re a multi-generational agricultural family. We have long-standing knowledge of what farmers, ranchers, and food producers need. Whether you’re looking to sell raw ingredients, produce a pet food that meets certain metrics, or simply need a place to store your bulk products for a time – J-Six Enterprises will work with you to find the right solution.
Pet Food Ingredient Packaging | Fairviews Mills – A Division of J-Six Enterprises