Corn production in the United States

Left: Worldwide corn production chart; Right: Iowa corn (2011).

Corn production (also maize production) plays a major role in the economy of the United States. The country is one of the worldwide corn leaders with 96,000,000 acres (39,000,000 ha) of land reserved for corn production. Corn growth is dominated by west/north central Iowa and east central Illinois. The US is ranked first in the world in corn production, and approximately 13% of its annual yield is exported.^[1]

Etymology

Corn primarily means maize in the United States^[2] and Canada;^[3] this terminology started as a shortening of "Indian corn".^[2] Indian corn primarily means maize (the staple grain of indigenous Americans), but can refer more specifically to multicolored "flint corn" used for decoration.^[4] However, outside North America, Australia, and New Zealand corn means any cereal crop, its meaning varying geographically to refer to the local staple.^[2][5]

History

Left: Illustration depicting both male and female flowers of maize; Right: Select corn production chart for 2010 by the United States Department of Agriculture

Corn is believed to have been introduced across what is now the United States-Mexico border a few thousand years ago.^[6] The original corn plant known as teosinte is still grown in Mexico and its size (ears of corn) has substantially increased due to efforts of Native Americans and scientific research. It is now the third leading grain crop in the world.^[7]

By the time scientific assessment of conduciveness to grow corn in the United States was undertaken by Meriwether Lewis in 1804, the immigrant settlers had already spread its growth in many parts of the country due to its suitability to grow in varying climatic and soil conditions. Once the suitability of land in the central part of the country, the Midwestern United States, was scientifically established as fertile and rich by Lewis and Clark, the settlers moved to the area in large numbers and started growing corn in a big way, reaping large benefits. Over the centuries, the crop varieties underwent changes to get better yields while farming methods were improved. As a result, the fertile belt soon came to be known as "the Corn Belt". Hybrid cropping techniques were widely practiced from the late 1880s, and the hybrid varieties developed with cross and re-cross breeding techniques developed by university research. This ushered a new age of agriculture. The 1% area devoted to hybrid varieties in 1934 rose to 78% in the 1940s and continued to rise thereafter. In the 1950s, Henry A. Wallace, former Vice President and former Secretary of Agriculture, and an early developer of hybrid seeds, observed that "the Corn Belt had developed into the most productive agricultural civilization the world has ever seen." This trend has continued and now the corn production level in American farms is a significant 20% higher per acre than in the rest of the world.^[8]

As the growth of corn has spread to extensive production in 14 states (though it is grown to a lesser extent in all the other US states), a coalition of farmers associations in all these states has been established. This association is known as the Corn Farmers Coalition, which is a union of the National Corn Growers Association and 14 state corn associations (including Iowa Corn).^[9]

Production

A 1918 US poster promoting corn.

The total production of corn in the US for the year 2013-14 is reported to be 13.016 billion bushels of which the major use is for manufacture of ethanol and its co-product (Distillers' Dried Grains with Solubles) accounting for 37% (27% + 10%) or 4,845 million bushels (3,552 + 1,293). The other uses are given in the table.^[10]

• 'Other processing' includes the production of High Fructose Corn Syrup, sweeteners, starch, beverage alcohol, and

cereals.

The final estimate of corn production for the years 1950 to 1959 in the United States is given as some three billion bushels and in recent years, some nine billion bushels are produced each year.^[6] Corn growth is dominated by west north central Iowa and east central Illinois.^[11] In 2011, the national average production was 147 bushels per acre, and reported to be 20 bushels per acre more than the yield in 2002. Based on a national contest in 2011 when an average of 300 bushels per acre was achieved others are sure to follow suit which result in a yield of 300 bushels per acre by 2030 from the same extent land holdings under corn.^[8][10]

Ethanol

Two types of ethanol are produced mostly (98%) from corn and other plants such as sorghum. The waste product of about 33% is used as livestock feed. Ethanol is blended with gasoline to produce E10 and E85 fuels for automobile vehicles. Its manufacture has created 400,000 jobs in the US and its environmental friendliness is recorded in the form of reduced gas emissions of 25.3 million metric tons. One bushel of corn can produce 2.8 gallons of ethanol, 17.5 lbs of livestock feed and 18 lbs of carbon dioxide.^[12]

It is also reported that every acre of corn ultimately results in reducing 8 tonnes (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons) of greenhouse gas emission. On account of great demand for ethanol corn is fetching higher prices. This has resulted in farmers increasing acreage under corn by adopting crop rotations between corn and soybeans; the latter crop's production has thus declined. Further more acreage under corn has also been allowed to be increased under the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 overriding the act of 1983, which had been fixed at 60,200,000 hectares (149,000,000 acres).^[13]

Agriculture

There are 80,000,000 acres (32,000,000 ha) of land dedicated exclusively to corn cultivation in the United States. The United States is the world's leading producer of corn,^[14] having produced 333,010,910 tonnes (327,751,510 long tons; 367,081,690 short tons) of the crop in the year 2009.^[15]

95% of US corn farms are family-owned.^[16] Highest yield of over 12 billion bushels have been recorded up to 2011 with 12.4 billion bushels reported in 2011 with yields of more than 140 bushels per acre. A milestone in production in the US is that the farmers take out 20% more corn per acre than in any other part of the world.^[17] Farming practice is based on irrigation only in about 11% area while the balance area is under un-irrigated conditions. The farm practices have also resulted in implementing conservation measures which have reduced soil erosion to the extent of 44%. Out of 316,000 corn farms about 300,000 farms (95% of them) are owned by families. More than 30% of corn farms are operated by women.^[16][18]

Value

US$267 is spent by the average American annually on corn.^[19] In 2015, one bushel of corn costs $3.50.^[20] The value of individual corn farms varies from location to location, depending on the amount of bushels produced and the quality of corn.^[21] Other factors such as the weather or economic crises may cause corn prices to fluctuate or to rise.^[22][23][24] The value of corn is increasing, due to the country's greater demand and reliance for corn.^[24]

By state

Iowa corn picker (2011)

Corn dogs at the Olmsted County Fair, Minnesota (2006)

Iowa

Iowa, the largest producer of corn in the US, grows three times as much corn as Mexico. Iowa harvested 3,548 acres (1,436 ha) of sweet corn in 2007. In 2011, the state had 92,300 corn farms on 30,700,000 acres (12,400,000 ha), the average size being 333 acres (135 ha), and the average dollar value per acre being US$6,708. In the same year, there were 13.7 million harvested acres of corn for grain, producing 2.36 billion bushels, which yielded 172.0 bu/acre, with US$14.5 billion of corn value of production.^[25] Almost 1.88 billion bushels of corn were grown in the state in 2012 on 13.7 million acres of land, while the 2013 projections are 2.45 billion bushels of corn on 13.97 million acres of land.^[26]

Nebraska

Nebraska is known as the "Cornhusker State" – and is the third largest corn-producing state in the United States.^[27]

Minnesota

Corn is Minnesota's largest crop. In 1922-31, production averaged 30.4 bushels per acre; in 1947-56, it average 46.6 bushels per acre; in 1973, it averaged 91.4 bushels per acre; and in 1994, the average was 142 bushels per acre. In 1935-46, a shift to hybrid varieties occurred.^[28] In 2010, the state produced 1.29 billion bushels.^[29] In 2012, Minnesota's farmers produced the largest corn crop in the state's history, at 1.37 billion bushels harvested, equaling 165 bushels per acre, on 250,000 acres.^[30]

Illinois

Corn fields near Royal, Illinois.

The first corn varieties grown in Illinois were those obtained from local Indians or varieties brought to Illinois from the New England states. After the Civil War, varieties were developed which were adapted to the state's soils and climate, such as Reid's Yellow Dent. During the period of 1900-05, there were 10,500,000 acres planted, with a decline to 8,862,000 acres in 1925-30.^[31] In 2012, Illinois sowed 12.8 million acres of corn in 2012, ranking fourth in corn production, behind Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The state averaged 105 bushels per acre in 2012, down from 157-bushel per acre in 2010 and 2011.^[32]

Alaska

Although the state of Alaska has a cold temperate, some Alaskan farmers still manage to grow corn, through means such as greenhouse farming. Corn is popular among Alaskans.^[33]

Indiana

Corn is a popular crop in the state of Indiana; it is mostly grown as animal feed.^[34] Indiana is located in the United States' Corn Belt.^[35]

Texas

The state of Texas is a great producer of corn; the final estimate of corn produced in 2010 was some 301 million bushels on 2,300,000 acres (930,000 ha) of land, totaling to $1.2 billion of crop.^[36]

Alabama

Corn was introduced to Alabama in around the eighteenth century; there have been traces of corn found in Nuyuka's Upper Creek village which dates back to the period.^[37]

References

Agriculture in the United States
History	History African-American history
Industries	Almond Apple Banana Blueberry Cherry Citrus Corn Cotton Maple syrup Onion Pepper Rice Spinach Strawberry Tomato Wheat Wine
State-specific	Agriculture in Idaho
State-specific by type	Coffee production in Hawaii Garlic production in California Pistachio production in California Walnut production in California
Law and politics	Agricultural policy Packers and Stockyards Act Capper-Volstead Act Grain Futures Act 1929 Agricultural Marketing Act 1938 Agricultural Adjustment Act National School Lunch Act of 1946 Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 1956 Soil Bank Act Food and Agricultural Act of 1962 1964 Food Stamp Act Food Security Act of 1985 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 1990 Wetlands Reserve Program Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 2002 Grassland Reserve Program