Cereal grains are used as energy sources, with corn
being one of the most important because of its high
metabolizable energy (ME) content. Adult cattle, unlike
sheep, have a limited capacity to masticate cereal grains,
because of that it is considered essential to break the
pericarp of the seed either through chemical or physical
treatments. The exception is oats (Avena sativa L.),
which cattle can utilize effectively when fed as whole
grain (NRC, 2001b). There are diverse processing
alternatives that have been well documented in the
literature. In general, the literature confirms the need for
processing grains such as corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum
(Sorghum bicolor L.), which are more resistant to rumen
fermentation, with no generally significant differences
detected among processing methods (Rowe et al., 1999;