Can cracked corn and rolled oats...

roccman

from a feed store be consumed by humans?

If not, why?

A 50lb bag of rolled oats on a "survival" site is $50.00.

A 50lb bag of rolled oats from a feed store is $10.00.

What am I missing?

Did farmers back in the day seperate fields of corn and oats ...one for human and one for animal consumption? I don't think they did.

What say ye?
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wisconsin_cur · Moderator Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2968

What I do is take the cleanest, untreated seed quality wheat and store it. It is about 10.00 for a 50 # bag. I will be doing the same with corn. I have a hand powered mill to turn the wheat into flour and the corn into meal.

The problem with rolled oats is that they begin to go rancid once you have "cracked" them by rolling them so they do not store as long. I have stored some oat groats and have my own roller.

I just let the guy at the feedstore know that I was going to feed some to the animals and keep some aside for myself. After a little disclaimer he set me up with what I wanted. It helps that I have an understanding guy at the feed store.
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roccman

kjmclark · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 09, 2005 Posts: 318

I think you probably could, but you might not like the results. They go through a number of cleaning / sorting steps on human food versions of processed grains that they don't bother with for feed. You're bound to have more hulls for the oats and more dirt, manure, and bugs/bug parts for both. It would really suck to get diarrhea from emergency food.

Check at a food co-op. We just ordered a 50# bag of organic hard, red spring wheat berries at our co-op for $23. It's double what you were going to pay, but it should be perfectly safe to eat or plant.

wisconsin_cur · Moderator Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2968

I'll let some one else respond to the details of your plan since I don't really know how the survival food places get their stuff sealed. I have been putting mine in 50 gallon resealable drums (originally used to transport cayenne peppers to the local conagra factory). I put them on a pallet and fill them up to the very top. The garage is earth berm so it stays cool all year and I figure there isn't that much air in the drum at that point anyway.

Re: the rolled oats: it is worth a try. Having read a little bit about your plans, do you plan at having chickens at one of your two bug out spots? If so it wouldn't matter as much if the oats went bad since the chickens really don't care and could turn the protein of the oats into eggs.

Good Luck
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"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens" -Friedrich von Schiller

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wisconsin_cur · Moderator Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2968

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5433 Location: Oklahoma

I'm not sure about oats, but I know some GM varieties of corn are not approved for human consumption. I specifically read about a variety called Starlink that caused severe allergies in some people when it found its way into processed food. I wouldn't eat feeder corn unless I knew the variety and trusted the source. Also I would look into the regulations about handling animal feed vs. human designated grain, because I wonder if there are stricter regulations about pesticide residues. But of course I tend to be more concerned about chemicals than most folks. If you learn any reliable info on this please do pass it on, thanks!

And what cur said makes sense, if you're going to be storing grain make sure you have a reliable way to mill it. Smile

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roccman

wisconsin_cur · Moderator Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2968

re: pesticides.

I would be more concerned about the residue on corn than I am wheat or oats. I spent some time talking to farmers re: wheat and the fields are so big that it is not worth spraying them. Doesn't mean that it hasn't just that it would be unlikely. Taking a chance, no doubt, but a small one.

good point about the corn. It is something to keep in mind. I have ordered OP corn from the feed store, but that DOES NOT save you any money and doesn't help with the pesticide question.

Again, the rabbits seem pretty sensitive. I guess I would save it for emergency food if you need to get it stored fast and cheap... then transfer over to "cleaner" corn over time, using the suspect corn to feed the animals.
_________________
"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens" -Friedrich von Schiller

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"Got farm?" -MD

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5433 Location: Oklahoma

Thanks, cur. Yes, in general I'm less worried about wheat than corn. And as you said, the grain can be used for animals as well as emergency food for us, which makes it doubly versatile. I shelled out money for pre-sealed 5 gallon buckets of grain and beans. It's not N-packed, but it is in mylar with oxygen absorbers. In my situation I basically paid for convenience. I have a few gamma-seal lids to use as we open buckets, and I use them now for sugar and flour. The gamma seal lids work great.

I had a bad experience buying some grain in bulk from a health food store - I think it was rice. It looked fine when I bought it, but was infested with meal moths which hatched shortly after I bought it. They're a very common pest in stored grains and pantries.

One reason I like using smaller buckets is that if one gets infested they don't all necessarily follow suit. Another is they're easier to move and/or hide if necessary.
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Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5433 Location: Oklahoma

BTW, damn roccman, that must have been scary. Glad you survived with only minor damage (relatively speaking).
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"Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young

wisconsin_cur · Moderator Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2968

I am also glad to hear that you are ok rocc. It is easy to see why you think that the fates are out to kill you Smile

I will also vouch for the gamma seal lids. We use some for the dog and cat food and i have some additional set aside for a time when they could come in handy for everything from storing flour to sealing a makeshift 5 gallon bucket potty in case the lights (and there by the plumbing) go out before the wife agrees to letting me build a privy.
_________________
"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens" -Friedrich von Schiller

coffee

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kjmclark · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 09, 2005 Posts: 318

kjmclark · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 09, 2005 Posts: 318

Cloud9 · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jul 26, 2006 Posts: 1041

I bought a 50 lb bag of rice and a 50 lb bag of feed corn in 1999. It took us 4 years to eat the 50 lbs of rice. I stored both bags in the same plastic bin. Whatever was on the corn kept the meal bugs out. It took us 4 years to eat the rice. I would not eat the corn unless we ran out of food. Should you choose to use the corn, you would need a grain mill. The hand cranked version works well. You will need to grind it several times before it is as fine as corn meal. I still have that orignial bag of corn. No bugs yet. The corn is stored in a plastic bin in an airconditioned utility room,