# Deer corn



## ByGodTx

Ok guys here is my first post. Deer corn is pretty cheap does anyone know if it stores well and is safe for human consuption?


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## Jason

I live on a farm and we grow field corn (deer corn). I've never eaten it to amount to anything and in all the years we've grown it neither has anybody else. You might be able to make a corn meal or something but I'm not sure. As long as you keep it dry it'll store just fine. We just finished some that was several years old, stored in a corn crib and it looked a little weathered but the cows ate it just fine. A lot of the kernels were starting to drop off the cobs but we grind it anyway so it didn't matter to us. If you wanted to stock corn, I'd say use it to feed livestock which you can breed (more livestock) and eat. 

Just my 2 cents.


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## bunkerbob

ByGodTx said:


> Ok guys here is my first post. Deer corn is pretty cheap does anyone know if it stores well and is safe for human consuption?


I get my whole corn from Wallmart, they sell it as stock feed. Pretty cheap. I then store it in 5gal pails with lids after charging with CO2.


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## Jason

Bob, what do you do to make it palatable? Also, if you buy any mount of it, try a feed store or a grain elevator-may be cheaper.


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## bunkerbob

Jason said:


> Bob, what do you do to make it palatable? Also, if you buy any mount of it, try a feed store or a grain elevator-may be cheaper.


Its not bad after grinding, can't really taste any difference between it and cornmeal. Not a lot of grain elevators around here, feed stores about same price. Also can be used as intended, as stock feed for chickens and cow.


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## ByGodTx

Thanks for the info guys


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## Jason

Honestly that's news to me. Good to hear-we have lots of corn around.


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## texican

It'd be a lot safer buying feed corn for livestock from the feedstore, and using that for your corn supplies. More chance of aflotoxin's in deer corn... if deer die eating it, who's going to know and complain? Most deer eating corn are harvested soon anyway. If farm animals die of aflotoxin poisoning, the owner of the animals is going to be raising a stink.

The cost difference is negligible... and the risk of poisoning not worth it... go with feed store corn.


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## TreeMUPKennel

I keep a steady supply of corn for my hunting needs, I've had some that last 2 season and still looked as goood a day one. But I buy it from the feed store myself. Last season there was a friend of my buddy who was selling it for $1 per 10 pound, just pull under and he'll fill whatever you got up. Great deal. Got to hit him up when season comes back in. Gets expensive feed everything in the woods.


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## DekeF

*Deer Corn = Feed Corn*

It's amazing that this misinformation about deer corn vs. feed corn is ALL OVER the net. So what do the people who test corn say about "deer corn"?

"That is just a way that businesses market bagged whole corn"- WV Dept of Agriculture

Put another way, the difference between deer corn and feed corn is the label on the bag.

*WV: 'DEER CORN,' LIVESTOCK FEED POSES MINIMAL AFLATOXIN RISK*News Date March 16, 2010

People who feed bagged corn to deer or livestock should not be concerned about dangerous levels of aflatoxin, a harmful substance that can appear on moldy corn, according to the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA).

"Protecting human and animal health is the primary mission of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. If there was any problem, we would be the first to sound the alarm," said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass.

"Staff routinely pull samples of both whole corn and manufactured feed products and sample them for aflatoxin - along with a variety of other potential adulterants - and I am confident their results are reliable," he said.

No samples have tested positive for aflatoxin over the previous two years that WVDA has been doing that type of testing. One sample out of 129 analyzed during that period was inconclusive.

An inaccurate media report indicated that purchasers should be leery of "deer corn," because it contained dangerously high levels of aflatoxin. A later report erroneously stated that aflatoxin content was a labeling requirement for whole corn in West Virginia.

Chad Linton, Assistant Director of WVDA's Regulatory and Environmental Affairs Division, said that from a regulatory standpoint, there's no such thing as "deer corn."

"That is just a way that businesses market bagged whole corn. Our action level for aflatoxin is 20 parts per billion, regardless of what use is stated on the packaging, and we don't have any labeling requirements for whole-seed items," Linton said. "Any whole-corn or other whole-seed item we find with aflatoxin levels in excess of 20 ppb is immediately embargoed. The same thing goes for any ingredients used by West Virginia feed manufacturers."

Linton noted a major distinction between whole-seed products and feed products, which can be whole-seed products that have been blended or processed in any way.

Some products sold in West Virginia include aflatoxin content on labels. Linton said some manufacturers choose to have their products independently analyzed and are not prevented from including that information on their packaging.

Some feed items imported into West Virginia are labeled as having aflatoxin content in excess of 20 ppb. Because long-term exposure to high levels of aflatoxin can cause liver damage to animals, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines allow higher levels in finishing feed for animals that will soon go to slaughter. FDA recommends no more than 20 ppb for all immature animals and all dairy animals.

To prevent the formation of aflatoxin, Linton recommended that covered feeders be used rather than dumping piles on the ground, and that corn and feed be stored in a cool, dry place. He said those are common practices in the agricultural community. He noted that stressful conditions such as drought can also be a factor in the formation of aflatoxin. (For more information visit West Virginia Department of Agriculture: News Release)


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## Psalm91

texican said:


> It'd be a lot safer buying feed corn for livestock from the feedstore, and using that for your corn supplies. More chance of aflotoxin's in deer corn... if deer die eating it, who's going to know and complain? Most deer eating corn are harvested soon anyway. If farm animals die of aflotoxin poisoning, the owner of the animals is going to be raising a stink.
> 
> The cost difference is negligible... and the risk of poisoning not worth it... go with feed store corn.


All of the Deer Corn that I have seen for sale at Walmart and Tractor Supply ALL have a certification on the back to have less than 20ppb of aflatoxin. I've been researching it myself to save money on our storage supplies. The only differences between for/not for human consumption (pure) grains (not mixed feeds) are the amount of "cleaning" that is done to the seeds before they are bagged, the type of equipment that they are processed with, and the variety of seed (sweet corn as opposed to field corn). If you are using the corn to grind up for corn meal and use as a baking ingredient, I doubt you'd ever even notice a difference in it. You will notice if you are rehydrating the grain and boiling it to eat that it is not as sweet, but it is just as healthful.

At the end of the day, you are storing the grains for TSHTF scenario and it wouldn't matter if it was covered with horse manure or not, you would wash it and eat it. The food that I store that my family eats, I buy human quality, the food that Im buying for long term emergency storage, I buy whatever is cheap and safe. JMO guys. Good luck!


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## RUN1251

We feed corn to our livestock year round. We have to purchase it one ton at a time because after about four months in the barn, it starts to get weavels. I put 200 lbs in my freezer for a month then stored it in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. I'm hoping the bugs froze and it will stay good. I'm going to check it in 6 months. If it stays good, I plan to grind it for corn meal or use it to make hominy.


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## Davarm

I've bought bags of "Deer Corn" to experiment with, all of it was of a quality that I would not eat(unless faced with starvation). Kernels were broken and discolored, dirty, filled with debris, and bugs. I've had bags sitting against the counter in the kitchen and at night when it was quiet, you could hear the bugs crawling inside the bags. In theory their may be no difference between deer and feed corn but in practice the difference can be dramatic.

That corn may be safe to eat but I dont much care for the extra protein and ruffage included in the bags. I will spend the extra 2 or 3 bucks per bag and get cleaned whole corn at the feed store and pack it bagged in buckets filled with CO2.

If I would not eat it now, I would not eat after TSHTF unless as stated above, I was faced with starvation.


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## kappydell

Like DaVarm I get my corn from the local feed mill, nicely cleaned and bagged. It makes excellent cornmeal and hominy. If it was 'dirty' I'd clean by winnowing, and freezing it, then would pick it over like dried beans and wash it before use. Yes, clean corn is nicer. Just go in and buy one small bag of their corn and check it over. If it is clean enough to suit, then buy more. It stores fine in pails, just keep your storage area very clean, as mice WILL chew through those pails and mylar if they think there is food inside!


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## LincTex

RUN1251 said:


> I put 200 lbs in my freezer for a month then stored it in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.


I use dry ice instead:

https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/...food_storage/dry_ice_in_food_preservation.htm

http://www.thefoodguys.com/dryice.html

http://extension.usu.edu/weber/files/uploads/J Thompson Handout1.pdf


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## Davarm

LincTex said:


> I use dry ice instead:
> 
> https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/...food_storage/dry_ice_in_food_preservation.htm
> 
> http://www.thefoodguys.com/dryice.html
> 
> http://extension.usu.edu/weber/files/uploads/J Thompson Handout1.pdf


Dry Ice is how I generate my CO2, Disposing of the leftover(dry ice) can be quite entertaining also! Have had the Sheriff called on occasion while doing it.


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## LincTex

Davarm said:


> Dry Ice is how I generate my CO2, Disposing of the leftover(dry ice) can be quite entertaining also! Have had the Sheriff called on occasion while doing it.


???? I have never had any leftover dry ice that needed "disposing". I have always used all of it and wished I had more!!


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## Davarm

LincTex said:


> ???? I have never had any leftover dry ice that needed "disposing". I have always used all of it and wished I had more!!


I usually only have 3 to 4 buckets at a time I seal up, I always make sure I have some left over for entertainment.


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