Thoughts on Corn

The next time you are at the movies and munching on some popcorn, or the next time you find yourself chowing down on some corn on the cob at a family picnic or barbecue stop for a moment to reflect on this wonderful and versatile food product. Corn as we know it today, even though mass produced, is still very much owing to the Native Americans of North America for its initial development and cultivation.

Since corn in its current form cannot reproduce without human aid, its origin as a human cultivated crop is clear as is corn’s continuing value as both a grain and staple crop. In addition to being a major food source for both humans and as animal feed, corn is also being increasingly grown with alternative energy needs in mind. In the form of ethanol, American industry is utilizing the country’s corn crop and cutting down our dependency on foreign oil at the same time.

Further still, by creating a new industry, ethanol production creates new jobs and the possibility of international exports – both of which are developments that will no doubt help to stimulate the economy in Middle America as well as the nation as a whole.

So, the next time you are eating some corn with your favorite turkey or chicken preparation, don’t forget that this amazing food product was almost certainly grown and raised her in the United States and that in every bite is a little taste of history and Americana.

Farming and the Credit Crisis

The credit crisis has obviously had a huge detrimental effect across all sectors of the economy, but it has been especially bad for farmers in some places. Lowered prices of commodities combined with increased cost pressures means that farmers are going to need a lot of working capital in the coming years, and the banks are definitely not as forthcoming with loan money as they have been in the past. What does this mean for small farmers, and how are they going to deal with the upcoming cash crunch when their funding dries up?

Farmers and growers have been meeting with some of the leading agricultural banks to try and plead their case, because these banks have been raising their borrowing prices at an extremely difficult time, and some farmers are very much so worried about the future of their businesses. I think it is important all this doom and gloom news with a grain of salt, because I do not understand how farming (as an absolutely essential part of any country) will be allowed to go under. Everyone has to eat do they not?

Besides, farmers are still getting close to the same rates that they have historically gotten. It is not nearly as bad as tightening of consumer lending that has been going on. The farmers and growers have historically been very good customers, so I do not think the banks will want to lose valued long-term customers in these very uncertain times. Hell, what about all the subsidies most farmers are getting anyways? It is not like they are destitute or going to starve. I wish I got government money regardless of how well my crops were doing, and what the market was saying about my product.

Corn Abuse

I personally feel that corn as a crop is being abused when it is used as a fuel all over the country. Corn is basically a part of our diet and should be used only for that purpose. In spite of so many people going hungry all over the world, we use corn as a fuel, when we could have easily used it to feed a large number of mouths.

Most people who advocate the use of corn as a fuel don’t realize that a large amount of fossil fuel is spent for the production of corn and all the other processes connected with it. Sadly most people forget that corn, when used as a fuel actually generates more carbon dioxide than the other fuels used. We could also have converted the large amount of land used for growing corn into natural forestland. This will bring down the global warming problem to a very large extent.

We also use a large amount of water and fertilizers for growing corn thus using additional resources for its production. Thus water is being utilized at a very fast pace, while the soil is getting polluted too. I therefore feel that the corn crop should not be used to produce ethanol. Instead we can look forward to cleaner fuel like hydrogen or other derivatives to run our vehicles.

Problems With Growing Corn

There are a number of common problems which can be faced by you when you decide to grow corn. You can take care of corn rootworm beetles by keeping a close watch when your corn is first producing silk. This silk is attacked by the beetle. It can affect the pollination process of the corn. To avoid rust or leaf blight, try to buy blight resistant seed in case you are in an area which has a warm and wet climate. In case you have heard cases of flea beetles causing Stewart’s bacteria wilt to the corn in your area, then get the seeds which show resistance to such a disease. You need to be careful as this disease can reduce the height of the young corn.

The rotting of the root is another common problem. You can solve this by improving the drainage of the soil. Corn can also get affected by a fungus which causes the kernel to turn gray and black. It’s better to plant corn varieties which are resistant to this type of fungus. Now that you know of most of the possible precautions that need to be taken, you can look forward to a healthy crop of corn the next time you decide to grow corn.

History of corn

The history of corn is a very interesting one. It was first cultivated more than 8,000 years ago in central and southern parts of Mexico. Besides this, it was also grown in Central America. It has its origin from the yearly grass found in this region known as teosinte. The wild form of teosinte is not of much use to human beings as it hardly has any part fit for consumption. It is used instead as fodder for animals.

The people of above mentioned region learned to domestic corn by choosing the variety of teosinte plants which showed a high amount of edible seeds. This led to a continuous process for a number of generations before we got the modern form of corn used by us nowadays. The modern corn that we consume needs to be sown as a seed to germinate. On the other hand wild teosinte can germinate on its own as its seeds can easily break from it and fall into the ground. The modern corn is further sub-divided into a number of varieties. Sweet corn and popcorn are two popular forms of the corn. Thus corn has definitely traveled a long way down the ages.