Corn: Key Crop of the Midwest in the United States Today, Farmers Grow More Corn Than Any Other Crop

READ & DO Economics Geography Corn: Key Crop of the Midwest In the United States today, farmers grow more corn than any other crop. Midwest farmers produce more than 650 billion pounds of corn every year. Why is corn such an important crop in the Midwest? For most people, the word corn brings to mind either fresh corn on the cob like people eat at summer barbecues or a crunchy snack eaten while watching television. But in Mitchell, South Dakota, people celebrate corn in every way possible. Their high school sports teams are called the Kernels (for corn kernels). The school mascot is a giant ear of corn named “Cornelius.” The name of the radio station is KORN. And on the main street of Mitchell, you can visit the world’s only corn palace. The outside of this large building has murals made with all parts of a corn plant: corn cobs, husks, tassels, and stalks. A new mural is created every year. Why would anyone care enough about something as simple as corn to build this huge structure? Why does the United States grow so much corn? And how do people use the corn we grow? Keep reading to find out. Mitchell’s first corn palace opened in 1892. It was built for citizens to celebrate the corn harvest. 52 Corn: Key Crop of the Midwest Corn Long Ago Corn has a long history in the Americas. About 7,000 years ago, the people of central Mexico developed a plant, called maize, from wild grass. Maize is a tall plant that produces large cobs of sweet corn. Corn proved to be a very useful plant. The kernels were good to eat. The leaves were good to chew. Corn could even be popped. People used corn husks to make things like baskets, shoes, masks, and bed frames. They burned dried cobs for fuel. As American Indians moved north, over thousands of years, they took corn with them. When European settlers arrived, American Indians were growing corn throughout North America. When European settlers began to grow and harvest The corn plant has many uses. corn, they quickly realized what a valuable crop it was. Parts of it can be used for food, They sent word of what they had learned—along with baskets, toys, and furniture. seeds—back home. Before long, people in other parts of the world were growing corn and other crops from the Americas. These crops grew so well and fed so many people that they contributed to population increases around the world. For example, in southern Europe, from 1500 to 1900, the population grew from about 15 million people to about 70 million people. Today, people grow corn on every continent, except Antarctica. Corn: Key Crop of the Midwest 53 Corn Today Today, many Americans depend on corn just as the early settlers once did. The Midwestern states of Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and Minnesota raise more than half of the country’s corn. These states are part of what we call “the Corn Belt.” The number of ways in which people use corn today might surprise you. Corn is used in thousands Corn is used in many products of products. Take a look at the chart below. It shows today. Many of these are from what happens to some of the corn grown in the corn grown in the Midwest. United States. How Corn Is Used Today Animal Feed Food Fuel More than half of all U.S. corn Corn is found in many foods, Ethanol is a fuel that can be goes to feed animals such as from breakfast cereals to made from corn. It can power cows, pigs, and chickens, and tortilla chips. Corn adds cars. Its use helps reduce air even our dogs and cats. “crunch” to foods. pollution. Cornstarch Corn Sweeteners Dried Corn Products Made from corn, cornstarch is Corn sweeteners are found Dried corn is an ingredient in a powder that is used in food in many foods, from lunch many household products. The and many paper and plastic meats to salad dressing. Corn pillow you sleep on and the products. Your picnic utensils sweeteners keep frozen yogurt comforter keeping you warm might be made from corn. from turning into ice. could have corn in them. 54 Corn: Key Crop of the Midwest Day 0 Day 12 Day 33 Day 45 Corn is also being used to run cars. That may This fork is made from a corn- sound strange, but a fuel called ethanol lets us do based plastic. It decomposes just that. Ethanol is made from corn and can be used safely and quickly—in just to power automobiles. Henry Ford’s first cars could 45 days. run on ethanol or gasoline or a combination of both. Burning ethanol creates less pollution than burning other types of fuel. Most gas stations today offer a blend of gasoline and ethanol for their customers that is friendlier to the environment. And think about this the next time you use plastic plates at a picnic. When you throw the plates away, they may sit in the trash dump forever. Could we make plates out of a new material that would fall apart over time and become part of the soil? Scientists are working on ways to make just such a form of plastic out of cornstarch. Did you brush your teeth this morning? If so, your toothpaste may get its flavor and smoothness from corn. Corn is used in many different personal care products from toothpaste to makeup, and from soap to shampoo. As you fall asleep tonight, think about all the different ways you may have used corn. And thank our Midwest farmers! ◆ Corn: Key Crop of the Midwest 55 READ & DO You have learned about the many ways in which people today use corn. How might people use corn in the future? Suppose it is 2090. You work for the agency responsible for space flight. Using what you have learned about corn, propose three ideas for using corn to make space travel, or life in space, easier. Write a paragraph describing your ideas in detail. 56 Corn: Key Crop of the Midwest © Teachers’ Curriculum Institute READ & DO Economics History Detroit During World War II Detroit was already an important center of industry in 1941. That year, when the United States entered World War II, the city became even more important. People looked to Detroit to build the tanks and planes needed for the war. How did wartime change one Midwestern city? Louise Thompson, an African American woman, already had a job. But in 1941 she heard that one of Detroit’s factories was looking for workers. The factory made planes for the United States to use in World War II. It was paying high wages, and Louise was interested. In the early 1940s, there were few good jobs open to African American women. But wartime was changing many things since many men were away fighting the war. This meant that thousands of workers These women learned a new were needed in factories and many of these jobs were job—assembling planes. During open to women. Thompson decided to train for one World War II, many women of the factory jobs. It was a great opportunity, and she were hired to work in factories. could help her country. Mr. and Mrs. Castle also saw an opportunity. Before the war, they had run a small business in their home, about 150 miles outside Detroit. When the war started, they closed their business and moved to Detroit. Both of them found jobs at the airplane factory near the city. But they had to live in a tiny trailer near the factory. It was a difficult change for the Castles, but they, too, wanted to help their country and themselves. 46 Detroit During World War II Willow Run workers built thousands of planes during World War II. The use of the assembly line allowed the workers of Willow Run to make a new bomber every hour. Changes in Industry Before World War II, Detroit had been home to the nation’s auto industry. Many people worked to make cars in Detroit, and most of these workers were men. In 1939, several countries went to war in Europe. Before long, countries in many parts of the world became involved. The United States entered World War II in December 1941. The war brought many changes to the auto industry in Detroit. The country no longer needed new cars. People could make do with old cars during wartime. So the auto factories stopped making cars, and instead, some auto companies made tanks. Others made ship engines or airplanes. Henry Ford built a new factory called Willow Run. This factory made a special kind of airplane called the B-24 bomber. The new factory was huge. The people who ran it wanted to use many of the same ideas that Ford had introduced to make cars, so they decided to use an assembly line to make planes. It was a new idea for building planes, and the results were amazing. Before the war, building an airplane could take many workers several days to complete. By the summer of 1944, however, the workers at Willow Run were able to complete a new bomber every hour. Detroit During World War II 47 At Willow Run, many workers Changes in Everyday Life lived in dirty and unsafe It took many workers to keep Willow Run’s conditions. They lived in these assembly lines moving. By June 1943, more than houses so they could have 42,000 people worked at the factory.

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