DOCUMENT RESUME CE 038 962 ED 244 125 People on the Farm: Corn and HogFarming. T:TLE Washington, DC. Office of INSTITUTION Department of Agriculture, Governmental and Public Affairs. PUB DATE Aug 77 29p.; For related documents, seeCE 038_960-969. NOTE Governmental and Public AVAILABLE FROM Special Programs, Office of Affairs, USDA, Room 536-A,Washington, DC 20250. A slide/cassette presentation developedto accompany this unit is available throughthe Photography Division, GPA, USDA, Washington,DC 20250 ($29.50). Materials (For Learner) PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use (051) MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE_ Occupations; DESCRIPTORS Agricultural Education; Agricultural Agricultural Skills; AnimalHusbandry; *Career Choice; Career Development;Career Education; Family Environment; Family Income;_*Farmers; *Farm Management; Field Crops;*Job Skills; Profiles;Rural Youth; Secondary Education;Values IDENTIFIERS *Corn; *Hogs; Iowa ABSTRACT This booklet providesinformation on corn and hog According farming on a small farm through aprofile of a farm family. their three children are a to the profile, Johnand Mary Miller and comfortable family operating a cornand hog farm in Iowa.John, the principal farmer, uses avariety of skills in management,veterinary agriculture, computers,business, and science science, soil science, raising hogs and raising as he goes abouthiS tasks of breeding and corn for their feed.Mary, his wife, leads atypical suburban life, driving the children toschool functions,-teachingpiano lessons, being available for farmerrands, preparing meals,and doing engaged in School activitiesand planning housework. The children are description of the to further theireducation. The booklet uses a this family to provideinformation on the typical daily activities of who are work skillS, lifestyle,income, and valueS needed by persons successful in such a career.The booklet is illustratedwith photographs of the Millers atwork and recreation ontheir farm. (KC)

*********************************************************************** the best that can bemade * * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are * * from the originaldocument. *********************************************************************** M4' 4 1 401 L - II t L , d _ c F ) 4.y i0,404m.7 cf. . , L of family this year and_next, and will the Millers belong to a church PEOPLE ON alSO remain productive for and other organizations in which THE FARM: limitless years and unknown few of the members are farmers. "owners" into the future. Mary, also 38, belongs to a study CORN AND Like most farmers, John Miller club in which she is the only is busy changing caps; and like member whb lives on a farm. HOG FARMING most farmers, he feelS he is in Quiet; gracefui, quick to smile danger of being stereotyped: and intelligent, Mary is -an John would like to dispel at articulate and charming least one possible misconception spokeswoman for the abbUt fartners, in the beginning agricultural way of life. She -and He's the manager of a of this, his story. All farmers are John address community groups substantial and successful farm not automatically early risers, on the needs and trends of business, but Jcihrift Miller of John insists. Hog and corn modern agricultOre. Theirfarm Cedar Falls, Iowa was shoveling farmersunlike dairy farmers-- was the location for taping of manure when histeenage just don't have to get up early television's Today Show when every morning, he'll tell you. daughter stopped the hog the show visited Iowa in October farrowing building. She needed "I'd rather work into the night- 1975. more feed for her riding horse, say until 10 o'clocklhan get up Their children; Julie, 15, Brad; Val. and asked Dad to order early in the morning," he says: 13; and Brian; 12, are active in But he isn't as convincing as he some. schoolJulie in a jazz band and might be. other musical outlets; the boys in John smiled; wrote a reminder_ Many mornings you'll find the in his ever-present notebook, and music and sports. returned to cleaning the 38-year-old farmer in his kitchen Mary sees herself as a farrowing housea kind of by 6:15, eating breakfast hag suburban housewife: Yesterday; delivery room and nursery for prepared hiniSelf, and listening to an ordinary day, she and Jbhh farm market prices on the radio. made three trips into the nearby newborn pigs. "I wouldn't want to be in bed if In a few moments this community of Hudson because manager- father laborer took on someone comes by," he said, of the children's activities. the additional role of almost apologetically. Their wide circle of friends businessman, phoning into town Even when the familytbbk_O includes people in work other for the latest prices on mixed week's vacation, his wife Mary than agriculture. Today,_aS She_ feed (which he would be buying) said, John woke up every pre_pared a breakfast of sausage; and on corn (which he would be morning at 5:30. YeS, thiS modern eggs; and toast in her modern selling). farmer and hiS family are able to kitchen, Mary explained:_ But he is more than a manager; get away on vacations from time "Really, we have the best of a father, a laborer and a to time; leaving affairS in the two worlds. We can live in tne businessman. hands of capable part-time countryside and still be elbSe to Some days he injects medicine helpers. cultural events. We live within a into his hogsas_a veterinarian 2-hour drive of the University of wouldto fight disease. lowa,_which is well known fbt its On otterdays he is repairing a excellence in the arts. We're not gate or widening the entrance to far from Iowa State University in a machinery shed_(_for his bigger, Ames; where the New Ybrk new farm implements), or MILLERS ENJOY Philharmonic performed performing_his own carpentry. FARM LIFE recently: We often travel 10 miles So John Miller is not only a to the University of Northern manag_er, a father, a laborer; and Farming, to John and Mary, is a Iowa to attend concerts, plays a businessman: but he is; among bUsiness which enables them to and so on:" other things, also apa.a- maintain a good standard of The Millers alWayS hbld season veterinarian (if there is such a living. tickets to the Waterloo-Cedar word), a carpenter and a They live in a century-old, Falls Symphony series. repairmannearly all because he modernized; and air-conditioned Mary_ teaches piaho to 21 is a farmer growing hogs and home nestled among big old ash studentS in her home. She corn on the gently rolling lands trees and pines in wide open doesn't get involved in any of the of Iowa. countryside: It is iust 12 miles field work on the farm, though AbOVO all, perhaps, John Miller from the center of a metropolitan she is always on call to make is a conservationist who area containing 133,000 persons; runs into town for equipment conscientiously_ works with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls; Iowa. repairsand parts. The children soil so that it will provide for his Like many of today's farmers, help a lot with the farm work; but 1 gi I ia i :: \,4

High schooler Julie Miller stops at entrance to the farrowing house to tell her dad that her riding horse needs more feed from town.

Left: Like a running back cradling a pigskin, John Miller steps out of the finishing barn with a hog that seems reluetant to have his blood tested so that John might learn whether he's feeding his animals correctly.

Just a dozen miles from the center of the Waterloo, Iowa metropolitan area, John and Mary Miller nonetheless live in the country. If they aren't attending a concert or delivering_children to activities in town, they might take time for a_chat on the porch of their modernized century-old farm house. . = _ an, t ir; 41,

f

s ';' C., ."7 s -"- -As;ON*is - 41.,., A N. -4

The nerve center of John and Mary and where_the many machines of faeming (Smaller home at center, top of farmsite): Miller's farm is like an island in a sea of are protected from weather (lower right Miller children walk down lane at right to grain. This is where hogs are bred, bern and center buildings): It's also where the meet school bus. Wagons at edge of corn (left center of the farmsite) and fed for family liVeS (in htithe almost hidden by (left center) will be filled with gfain from market (in big barn_ at left), It's where pipes that handle flow of grain hetweeh harvester and driven to dryer and storage thOusands of bushels of corn are dried_ bins' and where John and Mary lived in binS. and stored (cylindrical grain bins at right) when they first moved back to the farm 1=1.1==11111. theirparents would take on a Farming is definitely_ a Corn Belt. And where corn grows chore for them rather than keep business. Later, when he well, so do hogs. the youngsters from panic patine checked his books in an office Corn and hogs g_o together like in some rewarding event in town; near the_kitchen, John reported hand and glove, since corn We are interested in our that the farming operation netted makes up the main feed for hogs. children having a broad, them about $15;000 cash in 1975; The price relationship of hogs to balanced education," Mary from aJotal gross income of corn, called the hog-corn price explained: "Shoveling manure at $170,496._ ratio, has a seesaw effect and the expense of an educational He considers it a 11/2-man determines how much money experience doesn't really operation. In 1975, he hired a John Miller makes at any broaden one's background or c011ege student to work particular time. help him to understand the world weekends and part-time during around the week. A neighbor drops by "Mary and I are willing to work occasionally to help out in the an extra hour or two a day so evening; they can -play basketball or Growing hogs, and the corn to something;" John said as he left feed them, is the main objective WHAT'S THE HOG- breakfast to begin the day's work in the Miller operationwithin, of With a trip to the farrowing house: course, the overall objective of CORN "When we get tired; however; we making a_prpfit. PRICE RATIO? figure_ they're not doingenough." Corn grows so well in Iowa; So farming -for the Millers is a Illinois and six neighboring The hog-corn price ratio is the business which provides the States in the East-Central United number of bushels of corn that family with a lifestyle they enjoy. States that the ai ea is called the you can buy with the price of 100 pounds of live hogs. all my own decisions from the $100.000 in debt." The ratio provides farmers moment I went on my own:" Short-term decisions, more and Otherswith a rough idea of Its obvious that he thrives on common, are taken in stride. whether it is more profitable to it. Some may have significant sell tneir corn directly for cash -or John manages a farm consequences. to sell it through the feeding of production plant estimated to be "I've had the price of soybeans hogs. worth $886,800. change 10 cents a bushel just When 100 pounds of live hog The landend_buildings are while I was on the phone," John will buy 18 bushels of corn, the valued at $780,800. John owns recalled as he folded and stacked hog -corn price ratio is said to be 160 acres, rents another 258 empty feed hags for another use. 18. Generally; it is more acres from a trust that benefits "It's no place to be if you've got a profitable to feed hogs when the his mother; and custom farms nervous stomach:. ratio is higher than 18. another 70 acres for a neighbor. All of John's skills, from The hog-corn price ratio only His machinerydepreciated manager to laborer are employed points in the general direction of has an estimated value of $85;000 continually in response to a profitability: For instance, the (he could sell it for much more); stream of large and small hog- corn -price ratio in Iowa in and livestock $21,000. demands. January 1975 was 12.6. Iowa Long-term decisions can make Take farrowing time, for State University estimated that John pause: "You sign a piece of example. when the sows give hog farmers made a profit of only paper and suddenly you're birth to little pigs. 95 cents a head on hogs they sold that month. By October that year; the ratio had climbed to 22.5; and hog farmers, the university estimated, made a profit of $62.67 per animal: A year earlier; the hog-corn CORN PRICE TRENDS price ratio in Iowa had dropped to 10.8in May. Hog farmers were $ PER BUSHEL losing $14.66 per animal. So; 3 many cut back on hog production._ But there's another way to look 2 at it: Pausing in his early- morning SEASON AVERAGE PRICE check of conditions among the RECEIVED BY FARMER sows and their newly-born pigs, John explained: "Our hog 1 program is aimed at consistent production year after year. If you try to outguess the hog cycle 0 (national ups and downs in 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1976 prices and production); and raise hogs only in profitable years, you end up being 'out' when you should be 'in' or 'irt when you HOG PRICE TRENDS should be 'out.' "We hope that the highs and $ PER 100 LB. lows will average out if we stay in 40 the hog business consistently." The hog-corn price ratio isn't 30 the whole story on growing hogs AVERAGE PRICE and corn. There are other RECEIVED BY FARMER considerations. 20 John Miller, whosemind seems constantly at work, likes being his_own boss. 10 "In a corporation," he mused, "You have to work your way up to decision- making over a period of 1910 1920 1930 1940 years. Here I have been making 1950 1960 1970 1976

6 DECISIONS, DECISIONS

_ John Miller's farm thrives on _ shade over 2 (hundred pounds) and decisions, large and small. The farm that with reasonably warm weather devours decisions like_a hog eating and normal gains; they wouldn't be corn. John keeps making decisions, overweight next week, and I wouldn't but the farm keeps_demanding more: bedocked_badly (payments reduced John describes the process in because hogs weighed beyond the these excerpts from his packer's ideal limit.) So I decided to conversation: market next week:" "First thing in the momin_g there are the decisions about what chores "We've been looking to expand. syou are_goingto do that day and in I've been looking at buildings, what order. There are things for rainy pricing_them. I've been pushing a ;, weather and things for dry_weathat. pencil We found one building that You think,_'Gee I'd like to do that would be finished to the point where today:' but it's the type of job that I could just walk friend take overIt should be left for a rainy day and would run about $24,500. When I did today is dry:" an estimate on theznaterials_only7 no laborI came in at $13,000. If I "How much feed do I have left? I've built it myself-with some college got one bag of a particular premix so helphow long would it take me? I'll have to call and order more. But 'We know we're on the way down, what's the situation now on pricewise, on the 4 -year hog cycle, soybeans? I'm concerned about the and that the cost of corn is_porlSibly soybean market because I want to going to go up, which means the know when to book so_ybean meal. profits are going to go down. If We I've already booked a quarter of what know the (profit) margins are going I needthat is, I've locked in the down, we may be kidding ourselves price, but I haven't taken delivery. building now On the other Friend, if The first crop reports from farther we start building slowly now, we will south always give an indication of be set when the market starts back what the crop will be. The market up. reacts. Yesterday, soybeans went up "Sometimes I can be walking from 20 cents:" the hog house to the corncrib_ thinking about this kind of stuff and "The other day we had to decide, forget what i went over to the corn do we market (hogs) today or not? I crib for." had one of those things that are called a headache: -I was really "You have a choice on slats. You feeling lousy. And I knew the stuff can go concrete. You could go with that I wanted to get done before you plastic: You could go with wood: people (the photographer and writer) Each one has an advantage and a came. There are a coupleof packing disadvantage. These happen to be 6- companies on strike and that might inch-wide wood slats: The advantage affect the market. Okay last night we caught on the television that hogs at the time I installed themin areal had gone up 50 centS }per hundred tough cash floW tituation=WAS that I pounds). But I would have had to could put these in at 19 cents a deliVer the hiigs by 10 Or 11 O'ClOck square foot, and comrete_would cost when you were here. me something like $2.50. Se it didn't "Well, I knew from the week before take anyone with higher math to that my heaviest hogs were just a figure out which way to go."

Keeping in close touch with potential radio reports foi regional and national buyers of his corn. John Miller uses prices He generally doesn't call for hog telephone in his home office frequently to prices preferring to deliver them learn local elevator prices He also checks regularly throughout the year

4

BEST COPY AtTi:litELE though individual sows farrow only twice a year: When the pigs are weaned, they are taken from their mother's milkgoing "cold turkey;" as John put it. "Many's the Sunday morning; even Christmas, that I've spent working in the farrowing house," John said; nodding toward the row of metal stalls in which the sows were nursing their squirming pink offspring: "I used to have seven farrowings a year on the farm, but that was driving ma up the wall." Farrowing causes so much work and calls for so much extra care that John adjusts the farm schedule so that thepigs are born when they won't compete for time with the field work necessary to grow corn. John Miller's sows farrow in mid-June (after corn planting); in late August (before harvesting the corn), mid-December (after harvest and fall plowing of the soil for next year's crop), and in early March (beforeplanting). Pigs are born after a sow has been pregnant for just under 4 months (this gestation period, as This called; lasts about 113 days). There may be no pigs born alive or there may be as many as 16 in a litter; The average is about 8 or 9. The danger of losing newborn pigs to disease and other difficulties is high. On a national average, 25 to 30 percent never reach weaning age: The highest percentage of deaths take place within 3 or 4 days of birth; From a financial point of view, ent internal others, such as having its tail and sharp such deaths are costly. It may teeth cut off. cost a farmer $382 a year to keep sere will be a sowand that wouldn't be unusual. If the sow saved 10_pigs a year (5 per litter); the cost per pig would be $38.20.' However; if she saved 16 ayear (8 per litter), ME IS Though each sow is in the the cost per pig would be $23.88. farrowing house only 4 weeks, it With that in mind; John wants takes 6 weeks for all of the to take very good care of the n John impregnated sows to farrow and young pigs: He puts his son Brad is when their pigs to be weaned. These in charge of them. Brad is paid on and farrowing periods happen four the basis of an eight-pig litter. maned. times a year on the Miller farm, But he gets paid a little more if

5 the litter is larger, so Brad does hit best to keep the young pigs his alive and well. far Soon after each pig is born, lat Brad squirts a dose of antibiotics ne down its throat to prevent internal infection. He applies a tar-like salve to each pig's knees to keep the pigs from picking up an infection.hile crawling around. When the pigs reach 1 week, and again when they reach 4 weeks of age, Brad injects them with a combination of iron; antibiotics; and vitamins to prevent anemia and disease. Part of Brad's work is to clip the tail off each young pig. That dangling pink tail seems to tempt other pigs to bi'e it; opening a wound that may become infected. Brad's job also includes using_ a pair of metal clippers to snip off the sharp upper and lower incisor teeth (eight in all) in the mouth of each pig as soon as possible after birth. Otherwise the young pig would bite a hole in (a) his own mouth; (b) the other pigs in the litter, and (c) his mother opening wounds that are potential starting places for infection. Brad helps his dad; too; with shots and inoculations. Today, after joining his dad in the morning chores; Brad's job is a relatively clean one . . snipping off tails with a dog's toenail clippers and expertly performing his dental work. His dad, meanwhile, has been cleaning out the farrowing stalls; removing manure, an occasional dead pig, and afterbirth. He does this each morning and night at farrowing time. "A lot of people send thdie kids to clean out the farrowing house," John said; "but I usually don't. The kids could learn to hate hogs that wayand to hate farming. "Still; they need to learn that all jobs have good and bad points." So, Brad cleans out the farrowing_house about 15 percent of the time.

6 thinking about Minnesota right now." Brad was going on a week's vacation in northern Minnesota the next day. 's

r

,

Pigs don't need a light to find their food but rather to keep them warm in the farrowing house. Most sows lie down slowly enough for pigs to scramble out of the way but iron rails help keep mama off the young ones, too. Hog breeders like sows -with enough teats to handle large r litters. So do the pigs.

Another early experience for pigs is emit from the dentist who in this case is Brad Miller. No fillings. no extractions. Rather, the sharp points of the pigs' teeth are cut off to prevent pigs from wounding each other.

9 designed for such emergencies. EVERYTHING Adrenal glands from hogs and other But sometimes the young pigs animals provide adrenal cortex aren't able to adapt. Four or five BUT THE SQUEAL? extract used to treat Addison's oigt=or the whole littermay disease, and provide the drug die. Pork is iust one hog product._ epinephrine, used to treat bronchial.j Another is replacement heart valves asthma and whooping cough. Another_sow had farrowed only for humans. Still another_is paint Pigskin not only is used in the fora 4wo pigs. calling_her=lhe star brushes made with bristles; the short of gloves; shoes, hats, billfolds; boarder" because she didn't stiff hair of the hog. coats, parita suits, vests, and produce enough pigs to pay for _There was a saying once that topcoats but also is an aid in the her keep,John said she was "They market everything u, he hog treatment of severe burns. headed for the market after that but the squeal." That's still true. Hog pancreases provide insulin for farrowing, her first. He usually Some of the newest applications of the treatment of diabetes: hog parts are fairly sophisticated. markets sows after two A list citing the hog's medical farrowings. Who would have guessed; for usefulness could become quite long. instance, that surgeons at Stahl Ord The Wars have two breeding But what about hogs as fbOd? herds of abbilt 25 sows each, and University Hospital would develop a Pigskin is a major source of quality technique for replacing human gelatin used in desserts, ice cream each group farrows twice a year. heart valves with heart valves from mixes; and other products. That provides them_with a steady hogs. Perhaps those scientists who Pigs' stomachs are a prime source supply of _Pigs to sell year round. have worked with hogs as substitutes John markets hogs nearly every for humans in medical tests would of the enzyme pepsin used in chewing gum. week of the year: In the early have guessed. Or the surgeons WhO 1970'S he sold more thati 700 have been using pig intestines for But most notably, there are: pork sutures.__ chops, ham, bacon, spareribs, hogs a year. He plans to Because the cardiovascular and sausage, Canadian bacon,-Boston quadruple that production. respiratory systems of hogs are butts, lard, picnic hams; pork loin What kind of hogs is John similar to humans, and the nutritional roasts, hog jowls, pigs: feet and Miller trying to market? Hogs that needs of hogs and humans are about chitterlings (chitlins), to mention a are 6 months old or less; weigh the same, hogs have served as few of the more familiar delicaCies. about 220 pounds, and are lean, subjects in experiments on _ lean, lean because consumers alcoholism at the University of And then there are all those don't like fat pork. Missouri. footballsright? Wrong_ Footballs' John Sella hiS htigS to a The hog is no stranger to the arestillcalled pigskinsbut now packing plant (meat processing they're made but of something else.' medical world for other reasons. plant) in town on a "grade and yield" basis. That means his payment per hog depends on At taerowirig time division of labor on the how many pounds of_usable meat Miller farm finds Brad clipping tailS and the hog carcass yields in his father cleaning out the farrowing comparison with the total weight pens_ From here,manureand afterbirth are loaded_onto a manurespreader for of the live hog, and what use in the fields. Otter dead pigs and percentage of its carcass is afterbirth are botiod. convertible into gocd lean hams, chops and other premium pork cuts. Nowadays, nobody wants a fat hog. Lard; produced from hog SOME TROUBLES fat, isn't so much in demand. Vegetable oils have taken its CROP UP place in cooking. Not everything went smoothly Besides;_housewives today in the feettiWirig hOUSO that generally don't like fatty bacon or morning. fatty pork chops or fatty hams: One sow had developed MMA They want lean_ meat. (rnastitis-metritis-a galactia), an Consequently, the meatpackers_ inflammation that,prevents her also want lean meat and they pay from producing a normal flow of more _for it. Milk. Only a feWpjgS in her litter So the farmers grow lean_hogs. were able to feed from her: John Not thin, skinny hogs; but wide; 4. 7- injected her with medicine and heavily muscled_hogs,

tried to encourage the . How do they do that? By t youngsters to eat a special ration scientific feeding and breeding: 10 Jo' il II.6.7...... ---...... 1,- . !

t AL - !1a114r

sr

Left above: THE RATH PACKING COMPPANY * Hogs are fed to market weight (about 220 wArrocoo IOWA poundsl in a finishin_gunit, vi,herethey are HOG GUDE NO rittO VOUCHED separated into groups of about 20. all weighing about the same.

Right. above: Soybean meal to be mixed into hog feed is stored in corn crib, which is being re-covered with metal siding. John Miller shows a friend and carpenter, Jerry Geisler, hOw he wants it done. Atop the ladder is another friend. Kent Brandhorst.

W214%.'- . NUTRITIOUS PORK A voucher WS John Miller not only how Stock and Meat Board to promote theuse much his hogs weighed when he market- of pork. The deduction of $900130 means A serving of 31/2 ounces of pork ed them and what he was paid for them. Miller was paid $900.thedaybe brought in but how maaty they were. Seven of the 10 the hogs and_ that 80 cents (8C per hog) supplies more than 44 percent of the hogs Miller delivered that day were was sent to Natiomi and State Pork Pro- protein that an adult needs daily, also graded numb& 1 by company standards, ducer Councils foi pork promotion and 75-103 percent of the thiamin; 20-30 yet the cents he was paid per pound research (such deductions are voted on percent of vitamins BA. 13,E niacin. dropped off when the hog weighed more b_y hog producers). The net value meariS riboflavin am' phosphorous; and 10- than 230 lb.. The tattoo is Millersidentifi- thatls what Miller will be paid in about a 35 percent of the iron. cation number A base market price of Week, bringing his total payment for the The same size serving of lean pork $43.50 means Waterloo packers were 10 hogs to $992.95. Figures on bottom cuts such as loin chops and cured paying 431/2 cents a pound for hogs that line indicate Millers hogs yielded more hams contains fewer than 250 day The .20 under N L S. means 2 cents 1E.an meat for chops and other top quality per hog were sent to tne National Live cuts than did others marketed that day. calories:

8 I BEST COPYAVAUBLE ABOUT FEEDING Hog farmers provide these essential nutrients largely NOT ALL CORN IS John Miller uses 6 different through corn, supplemented with FED TO ANIMALS feed formulations for his hogs. a concentrated source of What dO hogs need in the way proteins, such as soybean meal. Nearly all of the corn grown in the of feed? Much the same nutrients Feeding corn; among the grains; United States is fed to animals. Yet as humans. Hogs need- results in the most economical the rest of it ends up in some carbohydrates and fats for heat and rapid gains in hogs. interesting places. and energyand whatever fat is Here's what happened to the 1975 The youngest pigs get a ration corn crop (not including ); needed for insulation: Protein is Of 18 to 20 Percent protein. After vital in the building of muscles, plus what was left over from the they weigh 12 pounds, the previous year; __ which will become hams, chops protein percentage is cut to 16 or U.S. farmers planted 78 million and other parts of the hog; Like 18. The pigs stay on that ration acres to corn that_ year. They humans, hogs need minerals, until they weigh 40 pounds, after harvested 87 million acres for grain. too, as well as vitamins. which the protein percentage'is Most of the corn on the rest of the Water is essential; So are cut gradually from 16 to 12 land was cut green to make silage antiblotics in small amounts, to percent in their feed, where it which is fed to animals. prevent and control diseases and stays until market time. American-farms yielded help increase the animal's rate of 5,767,000,000 bUShels of shelled corn growth. that year. That's an average yield of . 86 bushels per acrefar below the average yield on John Miller's farm To this add the 359 million bushels the United States had left over from the previous year and the 2 million bushels we imported (most of this from South America). This totals slightly more than 8 billion bushels of corn to use. Of this, we put 3;65 billion bushels into feed (for animals). We shipped I another 11 billion bushels overseasand most of this was used to feed livestock. We kept 465 million bushels for human food (again, this does not include sweet corn, canned or fresh), seed; and industrial uses: We had 313 million bushels left over-r-a little less than we had left over from the previous year. _Let's examine what that "food; seed; and industrial uses" means. Seventy percent went into what the trade calls wet corn millingthat is, cornstarch, corn sirup, dextrose, and ; mostly; The rest goes into , corn flour, hominygrits, breakfast foods; and alcoholic beverages. The uses for cornstarch and corn sirup are sometimes surprising; Starch is used in glues,charcoal briquet% fireworks; paints; plywood; cardboard boxes, printing, and rubber tiresto name a few uses along the industrial line. Corn sirup goes Into baby Morning silence is broken by the rumble spewing_dusty husks and cobs out the foods; coffee whiteners; jams, of the $44.000 corn harvester as John back. The dry tearing of the corn and soft drinks, licorice, canned sweet Miller begins to cut and_shell the 375 rumble of the motor are ignored as the potatoes and scores of other acres of _corn he planted half a year earli- Operator's attention is riveted on the me- products. er. metal "firigerS" reach out to gather in tal "fingers" skimming along just 6 inches Obviously, the influence of John six rows of stalks at a time. About 12 feet above the ground, to make certain they Miller's corn extends far beyond hiS tall, the new red machine lumbers for- don't stab into the ground at an unexpect- farm, ward, shelling the grain from the cob and ed dip in the land.

t 9 BEST COPYAVAILPRE John once raised hit hogS on pasture. Now that land is planted to corn. John now keeps his hogs penned up for several reasons. He switched primarily because he could afford it. Besides; his pasture equipment was wearing out. In addition, John found his animals grew faster in a controlled environment, especially in cold months; and the pasture system required much more labor. I So John Miller's hogs grow up and are finished (led) to market weight while confined in a barn, on slats. And the hogs need strong legs. "Eyeballing" gilts as prospective sows in backfat than "a real fancy gilt" but that What else do the prospective future breeding programs; John Miller is their hams were "real adceptable." Also sows need? assisted by afrierid and manager of a important are the number of teats, length John likes his future sowS'to nearby hog farm, Larry Green, Whtii found of body, soundness of legs and general have an ample number of teats these two "acceptablebetter than aver- disposition. enough so they can feed a good- age Green said they had a little more sized family successfully. The sows ought to have large d-e p most of their lives on slats. hams (that's what will bring more ABOUT BREEDING That's rightslatsa floor money at the packing plant when made of narrow wooden (or John sells her offspring), a At J.Qhn feeds theyoung strong beak (indicating good loin hogsafter they've been weaned concrete or plastic) strips spaced development and ability to carry And have gained more than 40 an inch apart; John's pigs are farrowed on concrete and a litter well), and other pounds =he starts looking them appearances which help to over"eyeballing therm" he calls bedded down in sawdust until they are weaned at 3 to 5 weeks assure that her offspring will k itto pick out the female pigs bring the best prices at the that he'd like as mothers of his of age. Then they spend the rest of their 6-month lives confinedin packing house. A heavy jowl future pigs. (cheek) means excess fat. Too When these young gilts=---at pens, on slats. John has remodeled an_old hay narrow a body means a trrialler they are called weigh about loin and smaller pork chops; 175 pounds, John picks out 30 to barn as -a place to feed his hogs. 50 candidates for motherhdbd The animals live in pens with If John's hbgt are too fat, and 'from the finishing pens the metal fences and slatted floors, they don't produce a higher place of their last confinement aboVe apit, called a lagoon percentage of the better cuts of before marketing. He changes WhiCh catches their manure and pork, he's wasting his feed. He their diet since there is no hurry, urine as they fall down between can't afford to waste feed. now, to finish them to market the SIAM With such a system, 'weight. His eye tells him these John has eliminated the need to females haVe the characteristics clean the pens of manure. he wants in a sow. As he Periodically, -this pit is drained continues to watch them and into a vacuum tank wagon that BOARS ARE EVEN before they are bred, John will looks like a gasoline truck and MORE IMPORTANT the liqUid, rich-in plant nutrients; reduce their numbers to about To increase his chances of 25. is taken to corn fields and spread on the ground. producing more valuable hogt, What is John looking for as he John works hard at applying the "eyeballs" the gilts? Many of_America's hog farmers use a system like that: Some laws of genetics. If the gilts seem Well, for one thing, he waritt promising; and they are mated his hogs to haVe strong legs. A don't. Some let their pigs runfree in pattUret where the grass with scientifically observed and good sow needs them; because measured boars, or such boars' inactive or clumsy_sows &Ohl benefits directly from the manure (as the pigs benefit directly from close relatives; John is improVing raise gbbd littert. Pigs need the odds in his favor. Strong legs because they will live the grass). 10 13 Scientists and hog breeders in overall quality of John's herd. gilts, he can always buy young the United States have been Each will mate with several gilts pigs from someone else and feed goingall out since the 1950's to or sows, so the boar's hereditary them to market weight. He also find the genetic path to leaner; characteristics will be shared by will save all the trouble meatier hogs so that customers many offspring. A set of good connected with farrowing and can buy leaner bacon, meatier characteristics could mean extra breeding; pork chops, and other choice dollars for John when the More and more farmers are cuts they indicate they want. offspring are sold. doingjust that. About 40 percent There are 40 testing stations in People have paid as much as of all hogs slaughtered are 27 States for young boars, where $40,000 for an extremely high produced on farms other than the animals with superior genetic quality boar. ones where they_were born. qualities are determined Under this system; the scientifically. These young boars produder buys the yyung pig are used in breeding herds to when it has been weaned and pass on their superior qualities to MANY FARMERS BUY weighs about 40 pounds., He their offspring. FEEDER PIGS feedS it until it reaches market In these testing stations; weight, about 220 pounds. operated commercially or by Of course, if a grower wants to A lot of farmers are in business groups such as cooperatives or avoid all the concern about just to produce feeder pigsan by State universities; scientists buying the best boar he can example of modern day usually test the daily rate of gain afford and selecting the best specialization on the farm: of the boars (the national average for hogs is 1.5 pounds a day); their feed efficiency (on average, ., .. about 350 pounds of feed are HO GETS THE CONSUMER'S PORKpm:LARS? needed to produce 100 pounds of weight gain);_backfat thickneSt (usually 1 to 11/2 inches); their "pork chop potential" based on :WHOLESALING the loin eye produced in a littermate Whith has already been slaughtered (hopefully 5 or 6 square inches in the loin eye), and other characteristics, such 1 as the number of days it took the boars to reach 220 pounds in weight. What's a loin eye? It's the , , I 91, meaty part of the pork chop. The " U4,,, r .44.o:`: A""; bigger the eye, the meatier the . , 4 . chop and the more the farmer couloo of rounding Inclivkluol poroonFogioo.. floury* not tef*.i . maybe paid for it. "Over the years hogs have changed a lot," John reminisced !"..":,*)". as he repaired a water line in the L,#E R CAPITA PORK CONSUMPTION finishing barn. "I started with hogs with 3.5 square inches of B. loin eye. Now the loin eyes are 5-6 square inches. Hoop backfat has been reduced from 2 inches down to 1,1 indhes." John keeps up with the results of the Iowa Swine Testing Station and others. If he doeSn't buy boar directly through the station, he likes to visit the farm where the test animal was born and buy a close_relative of that animal at a I I I reasonable price. t1910 1950., 1960 1970 1976 Boars are important to the 11 14 BESTCOPY AVAILABLE Whether the Iowa farmer corn than they could se!, for produces his own pigs or buys human consumption (including HOGS HAVE BEEN young pigs from others, his corn meal, , and whiskey). "MORTGAGE LIFTERS" favorite feed for those pigs is They started feeding more corn corn. It's been that way for more to more hogs. Fortunately. For years, hogs bore a reputation than a hundred yearssince the transportation facilitiesrivers of being "mortgage lifters." That hogs "came out of the woods," so and canals at first; then means they could usually becounted on to bring_ in cash to pay off the to speak. railroadswere established in mortgage payments on the farm. In_the early days of hog time to handle the marketing of John Miller says "hogs don't production in the United States, the hogs. The animals could be always carry the prestige of cattle; in the 18th and early 19th shipped from the farm to the but you can't live on prestige." centuries; hogs ran free in the slaughter house and from there Hogs are more prolific than any woods and the pastures to find to the consumer in the city. other form of livestock (cows almost their own food: They were good Hogs are grown all over the invariably bear only one calf per scavengers. For practically no country. Corn is grown all over birth); they grow to a salable size investment in time, labor or the country. But most corn and rather quickly, they produce litters most hogs are grown-in the Corn twice a year; and they increase the money, the pioneer farmer could value of corn. sell hogs for cash cash he Beltin all or parts of the States needed to buy food he didn't of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, , grow himself, some cloth for Minnesota,_Missourt; Nebraska; clothes; and_the tools of and South Dakota. States in the production that were Southeast and Texas are HOG COUNT STEADY; manufactured in the cities. important hog producers; too. Such_earlytogs were pretty Corn grows so well in the Corn FARMS DECLINE ''rangy"that is, they were lean Belt and hogs grow so well on The number of hogs on U.S. farms but also stringy and tough: Some corn; the two just naturally grow hasn't changed much since 1890, people called them razorbacks. together. when the census takers counted 57% Still, these hogs were all you Why does corn grow so well in million swine on U.S. farms. In 1977, could buy at the time the Corn Belt? It's the soil and there were 55 million hogs and pigs If you were the farmer; the climate primarily. on our farms. however, you could put some The soils are highly fertile Yet the number of farms raising corn aside to fatten up the hog relatively high_tn organic matter hogs has dwindled with time just as intended for your own table and nitrogen. They are medium the overall number of farms has been to fine in texture and hold dropping for decades in the United after the hog ran free in the States. woods for a few months. A hog moisture well. In 1900. some 4 1/3 million farms could provide not only some Much of the land is either level were raising hogs In this country. meat but IV for cooking and for or gently rolling, making it easy The_riumber increased to 4.8 million making soap. to get around with farming in 1920, but then the numbers started As farmers moved farther and equipment, and the land is less dropping. farther "west" (Ohio, Illinois. subject to severe water erosion By 1959, the number of U.S. farms Iowa), they began to grow more that would wash away the fertile raising hogs dropped below 2 topsoils. million. Just 10_years later, the number was 688,097.

U.S. CORN HARVESTED FOR GRAIN BILLION BUSHELS 6 CORN BELT IS "JUST RIGHT" 4 The Corn Belt is perfectly located between the Equator and the North Pole, near 40 degrees 2 north latitude, and so provides time for corn and_other feed crops to mature. The last f -rost of spring and the first frost of fall 0 I I I 1929 1959 19691976 are far enough apart so that seed 1909 1919 1939 1949 can be planted late in April or

12 5 BEST CM MIME produce energy and grow. Also; a wet spring encourages roots to grow too close to the surfacewhich is disastrous in a drier-than-usual summer. Roots can find water only at deeper levels in a dry summer. John tries to have all his crop in the ground by May 1, bUt weather and soil conditions can delay him: There's a saying in John's part of Iowa that every day's delay beyond May 10 reduces corn yields one bushel per acre. The reasons: pollination is delayed into hot unfavorable weather; or the ears won't mature enough before the first frost. Though John Plants his corn in early spring; he starts preparing the ground for seed in the fall, soon after the previous harvest: First he spreads phosphate and potash fertilizer on the soil, in amounts just right for his particular types of soil. Phosphorous compounds are like the wiring in a house, permitting the transfer of biochemical energy from one life process to another in the plant cell. Potash provides potassium, but scientists aren't sure what role potassium plays in the plant life; though it is necessary. Some say it activates enzymes, ls of speeding up biochemical reactions in the plant. After he has spread the fertilizer, John chisel plows his acreage on the contour (following the natural curves in a slope rather than up and down le 4 the slope). To better explain the mechanics of his soil preparation; John walked among the pieces of machineryworth ril thousands of dollarsand pointed to the soil-working parts of each, explaining their ie functions in simplified terms. Imagine holding nails between your fingers and dragging them :hih through soil. You'd be cutting open the soli much the way John does with the big chisel plow that nt he pulls behind his tractor. The s to idea is to stir up the soil to a

13 AAtkEb"4---''

ES

ti

John Miller is backed of dollars worth of equir and hog farm in Iowa. A shown is field equipmen corn. However, the light in rear, left, is used to hi market, Cylindrical tank pickups is used to haul] the fields from the finish which the photographer

14 AAA

4- tam di. --

Teeth of chisel plow used in fall tillage.

.1 -Q.--c"

Cuttirip.edgesiif tandem disk used in spring, tipage

Corn planter's sharp wheel-like colter, righi, cuts_Soil:_seed drops from box be- hind it; and- hand -like metalstrips fold soil back over the seed: Rubber tire; left; presses soil down gently over seed.

3-

is e 17 and farmers have been U.S. CORN YIELD PER HARVESTED ACRE responsible for half the increase in corn yields which have nearly BUSHELS tripled in the United States since 100 hybrid corn varieties were first introduced commercially in the 1930's. The rest of the increase is attributed to the increased use of fertilizer and improved methods of working with the soil. Not only does today's corn provide more bushels per acre, but it offers the farmer a number of varieties to fit his conditions. 0 Each hybrid responds differently 1909 1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 19691976 to the weather, diseases, and other growing conditions. If continuing rain delays .,ohn Miller's corn planting until late in May, he selects a quicker- maturing hybrid which will d-ebth Of 6 to 10 inches, but doing knives are tubes which allow mature before frost comes in the it in narrow strips so the corn anhydrous ammonia gas to fall. stalks and other vegetation left escape into the soil opening In any given year; John Miller over Worn the corn harvest will made by the knives. The gas may plant as many as seven remain on top of the soil all attaches itself to moist soil different varieties of corn winter to help keep the soil in particles. primarily to ensure that a place and to keep moisture from Anhydrous ammonia provides problem which affects one kind evaporating so fast: nitrogen for the growing corn. won't affect the whocrop. A The 4-inch-wide points of Every plant cell needs-nitrogen.- total crop wipe-out could put him John's ChiSel plOW, spaced 15 Even chlorophyll, which enables so far behind financially he might inches apart, are twisted slightly plants to convert carbon dioxide never recover. so that soil is brought up and and water into sugars, starches John plants hybrids_ with such partially covert the crop residue. and fats, is a compound of names as Pioneer 3780:Dekalb His contour plowing helps nitrogen: 64a, and Funks 4321, which tell keep soil from washing downhill. While the suburbanite applies their brand and variety number: John observes that nitrogen to get a green and Their maturing perk:ids vary from "continuous up-and-down-hill healthy lawn, the farmer applies 95 days to 110 days. tillageon our types of soil would nitrogen to increase the yield of __He likes to start planting April result_ in 14 to 16 tons of soil kiss corn. He applies nitrogen in 23 to 25 and plant 50 to 80 acres a per acre per year. We try to hold amounts that are indicated by day until completion. losses to5 tons or less."_Five tons tests and analyses: Farmers elsewhere plant at sounds like a lot, but John U.S. corn yields have more different tirnes depending on the explaired that this represented than doubled since 1950, due in temperature and moisture the loss of 1/36 of an inch per great part to the increased use of condition of the soil. The soil acre. He holds losses on some relatively inexpensive nitrogen must be warm enough for the fields down to 2 or 3 tons a year: fertilizer. seed to germinate and not so America's phenomenal corn clogged with water that the seed production (Amerrcan_farmers will "drown"die for lack of grow nearly half the corn grown oxygen. NITROGEN IS in the world) has also been aided Since John partially prepared by the development of vigorous his soil in the fail, his first step in IMPORTANT hybrid corn varieties: Today's the spring is to cut up the surface After chiseling on the contour; corn looks no more like the of the fields with a disk, a John knifes in some anhydrous that the Indian planted than_ machine that looks like a row of ammonia. Again, imagine today's horses look like their,, sharp-edged metal pie plates set dragging nails through the soil; miniature forebears of on edge. John rolls the disks over much the way_John drags metal prehistoric times, the ground at a shallOw depth, tihgeit behind a tractor. It is estimated that hybrid corn providing a bed of fine soil for the Attached to these fingers or varieties developed by scientists seed. 1.8 15

BEST COPY WHALE equipment is essential so that he doesn't use more chemical than he needs. The herbicide kills weeds that I might compete with the corn for water, food, and sunlight. Like many things on the farm; however; the herbicides don't always work out as planned. We are playing a percentage game:" John explained; "Four out of5 years we hope to stop at least 80 percent of the weeds. Soil conditions; weather patterns, choice of chemical, and timing are crucial. "Matching herbicides and insecticides to your own c particular weed and insect problems is vital: There are hundreds of chemicals and chemical combinations available." The weeds that John tries to kill with herbicides sound like -monsters in a suburban lawn lover's nightmare: foxtail, butterpnnt, cocklebur, fall Plowing on the contour means cutting the during heavy rains. Corn stalks left by this soil open perpendicular to the line that fall tillage operation also will retard flow panicum, smartweed; ragweed; water would follow draining off a field. off of both soil and water. thistles, lambs-quarters, and This reduces loss of valuable topsoil quackgrass. The first insecticide application is aimed at killing the bugs that like to munch on corn are left after harvesting remain in roots. Later arriving insects may JOHN REDUCES the fields between crops; indeed, require other insecticides to TILLAGE even after Seeding. discourage them from eating Farmers used to make several John's corn planting- machine the leaves, the stalks; and the trips over the fields with drops kernels into rows in the kernels of the corn plant. implements, cuttihgthe soil into prepared soil; then presses soil Typical of the insects that John fine pieces several inches deep: around each kernel so it can might fight in order to win the Now people think that wasted germinate (it needs to be next to right to harvest the grain are the time, fuel, and the soil itSelf. TOO the moisture found between the cutworm, which cuts the plant off much tillage -can break down the tiny soil particles). atround level; any of three structure of the soil and inhibit its Each kernel of seed corn kinds of corn rootworm, which water-holding capacity and contains the germ of a new plant prune corn roots; and the corn ability to support plant growth: and enough food to keep it going borer, which burrows into the Now farmers make fewer trips. until the earliest leaves break stalk or ear shank. This is tailed "Minimum through the soil. When the leaves If it doesn't rain within a few which was used on 39 million unfurl in the sunlight, the plant days after the herbicide is acres of U.S. farmland in 1976, will begin to manufacture its own applied, John goes over the fields cbtripared With only 3.8 million food: with a rotary hoe so that the acres in 1963: Attachments to the corn herbicide can work its way down Farfners who continue to use plantin_g_machine also apply a , to the germinating weed seeds the bid methods are what John liquid herbicide (weed killer) and and knock them out. This calls "1940's farmers:" Such granular insecticide- insect operation helps knock out any farmers, in turn, call John a killer) it precise amounts per weeds that have already started. "teeth farmer," because his fields acreusually fractions of a The rotary hoe is a group of star- look trashy between cropsthe pound. John explained that shaped metal disks which cuts up stalks, grasses and weeds that careful calibration of the the ground to just below the

16 19 surface, between the rows of 66NI OU_CAN_HEAR corn plants. WHERE IN THE Later, even though he has used WORLD? CORN GROWING" a herbicide, JOhn goes back Corn likes Moderately warm through the_fields_bfgrOwing U.S. farmers grow nearly half days and warm nights when it's corn with acultivator; which cuts (47%) of all the corn grown in the growing fastest in June and July: and uprodtt_ any weeds that world. We ship about a fourth of our Some folks claim they can hear might have sprung up between production overseas. the corn growing on hot humid the rows of corn: Cultivation also People overseas want our corn to feed to livestock and poultry_ The hightsin the Corn Belt. (Well; a Ibbterit the soil so that it retains field of corn does make a lot of moisture that falls. Cultivating European Community, usually our .top corn customer, buys 10 to 12 rustling noises on such a night can also reactivate some million metric tons a year% Japan; with a littie wind in the air.) herbicide by bringing it to the .another steady customer boug_ht 5.8 Yet corn growth slows when _ same level as the weed seedt. :million metric tons in 1976; and the temperatures are over 85° F and. Cultivators come in all shapes Soviet Unibri, our leading customer stops by 90° F. and sizes, some resembling -In 1976, bought 10.3 million metric . Average temperatures in the several curved knives in a row or tons. Corn Belt are 76°F in July and sharp disks in a row. Other notable producers of corn_ are China, which harvests about 11 74°F in August: The ideal is a There is a limit to how late in range of not less than 50° F-at the season John will dUltiVate. He percent of the world's production, Brazil; 5 percent; thQSoviet Union night and not more than 86°F in doesn't want to cut off valuable and South Africa 4 percent each the daytime. corn roots which have been and, in lesser percentages; Mexico; The highest yields of corn have growing_ _towaed the center of the France, Argentina, Yugoslavia and occurred in summers when June rows. When the corn plants have RtiMania. was warmer than usual but with grown tall and full; they will cut Most of the corn production of lower than normal_temperatures off sunshine_from Competing those countries stays at home as. in July and August. weeds (which need_sunlig_ht, too). Lndeed; it does in the United States: Climate dictates to a great John's dependence on good Even so, the United States accounts extent where Own can be grown weather is total, and that . for more than 70 percent of the corn that is exported in the world. In fact, in the world. But there are other dependence takes many shapes. factors : When a corn plant is tasseling U S. corn exports account for about one-fourth of world trade in all Arrierica is fortunate in having (that familiar tassel that shoots grain =--including wheat and coarse a large area with j=ust the right out of the top of the plant and grains. conditions: Most countries are contains pollen); the plant likes U.S. corn export shipments were not so fortunate. balmy weather with a little valued at almost $5 billion in fiscal Draw a line through the areas breeze. Why? So the pollen from 1976. of the Northern Hemisphere the tassel will blow gently around It was the third successive year in Where the mean (midway the fields of torn and fertilize the ,which the U.S. exported more bushels of corn than wheat. between high and low) . silken strings that emerge from temperatures in July are 70°F to the ears. Each silk leads to a 80°F. (just right for corn). Along potential kernel of corn (the that lineyOu'll find other ovary): conditions that discourage the John likes some rain and cool growing of corneither the soil weather (less than 85° F) at isn't good for growing_corn or the pollination time, about 70 to 80 rainfall is too skimpy or the rain days after planting: Dashing CHINA LEADS taut at the wrong time of the rains, on the other hand; will WORLD IN HOGS year. drive the pollen to the ground. About 35 percent of the hogs in the There are similar problems in Hot; dry; windy days put the corn world are in China. The U.S. the Southern Hemisphere_- under stress and cause poor Department of Agriculture estimated though the growing season fallS pollination. Fewer kernels ,there were 237,250,000 of the in opposite months. develop: In 1974; formstance; animals in mainland China in 1975. Consequently, farMers in the extreme heat in the Corn Belt That's tour times as many as were United States produce 47 percent during late June and the first 3 :in the United States, the world's of the world's corn; most of it in weeks of July caused extensive 'second largest producer the Cben Belt. Two States in the barrenness (lack of ear Brazil was third with 351/2 million Corn Belt, Iowa and Illinois, development). About 1 week of !hogs. produce 40 percent of the corn extreme heat and dryness in this grown in the United States. period can cut yields Those two States in 1974 significantly. produced the equivalent of the 2o 17

BEST COPY AVAILABLE corn production of all of Eastern and Western Europe combined. The Corn Belt is a great place, too, to raise soybeans, wheat, potatoes; and several other crops. Indeed many soybeans are grown there to make soybean meal, a protein supplement which is fed to beef cattle and hogS. Farmers grow corn and soybeans in the Corn Belt rather thanheat and other crops because they can make more money per acre with corn and soybeans. Wheat can begrown in other places--such as west of the Corn Belt in the United States where wheat's adaptability to drier conditions enables it to be grown more successfully than other crops. Corn is mature when the ears have produced all the kernels that their genes, the soil, and the weatherin coordination with Above: Below: the farmer's effortshave Terracing of farm land means moving When corn harvestii permitted that year.. The kernels tons ot dirt around so that the earth is machines keep goir have Stopped filling, their tops shaped into a descending series of nearly day,Often, meals ai hat "table tops" of land; Conservation- 'Po_werfuLlig_hts cut I have dented inward; and drying Minded farmers such as the Millers install the operator. Even has begun, a condition necessary them to reduce runoff of valuable soil motor finally stopsE for good storage. Ideally, this all during rains. Big earth-moving machines gas and fans drying happens before the first killing replace plows in doing such work on the barnyard helps I frost. many modern farms; sleep. In the Corn Belt this is probably in early October. The stalks and husks of the corn turn brown. The leaves on the colorful maple; oak; and other hardwood trees turn their brightest colors.

ROLL OUT THE COMBINES k. It is then that John and the other farmers wheel out their gigantic, modern, glass- enclosed, expensive, radio- equipped and oftenair - conditioned combines. fhe dusty continuous work of modern corn harvesting begins. A combine is a machine that can either cut and thresh soybeans and small grains, or harvest and shell corn. John's combine cost him $44,000.

18 payment is lower because the to sell corn at $3.33 a bushel to break elevator owner has to spend CORN COSTS even. The cost of producing corn some money drying the higher - BREAKDOWN varies widely across the United moisture corn so he can store it Statesdepending on how you farm, and ship it under the right John Millersays he has to sell his how you value your land, and how conditions. corn for $2.32 a bushel in order to you value your labor and The farmer exercises his stay even. He figures that $2.32 is management. judgment on whether to dry the what it costs him to produce corn Iowa State University estimates corn himself. As the corn is dried, $290 an acre on land with a yield of that the cost of producing carn_in 125 bushels to the acre. Here's his it loses some of its weight. So Iowa in April 1976 averaged $227.43 while the teeth& may be paid breakdown of costs per acre: an acre; that was assuming a land Insecticides rental value of $85 an acre. With a more for the drier corn, he sells and herbicides $ 24 yield of 110 bushels to the acre, a less weight. He must decide Fertilizer 46 farmer needed $2.07 a bushel to which moisture content will bring Ownership and operation break even. him the most money, after of machinery 70 The Economic Research Service of considering the drying costs. Labor 20 the U.S. Department of Agriculture Many farmers dry corn by Seed 13 estimated that farmers in the Great burnin_g liquified petroleum gas, Rental value Lakes States and the Corn Belt had though John and some of his of the land 117 (6',4% an average cost of$127.70 an acre interest neighbors use natural gas to heat growing corn in 1975without the air blown through the corn. on adding in the cost of the land or the $1800 value of management. Add John's Several experiments in drying per acre $117 land v_alue to the $127.70, and grain with solar energy are land) the cost is $244.70 an acre: already underway. When the air TOTAL $290 The University of Illinois estimated is dry enough, you can dry corn that the average cost per tillable acre just by blowing natural air Nationally, the averageyield runs to grow corn in central Illinois in through the corn. about 87 bushels to the acre. If 1975 was $254on farms with no John has storage capacity for `John's yield were that low, hE'd have livestock. 34,000 bushels of corn. He needs 10,000 bushels ayear to feed hiS hogs. Because he hopes to harvest 48,000 bushels each year; To use the combine for the ear of corn is hUSked and he must arrange to sell and soybeans and small grains, such shelled. The machine removes deliver 14,000 bushels as wheat and barley; or for corn: the outer protective covering immediately after harvest or you just change the harvesting reom the ears and shells the arrange to store the corn in town. front eridS=Or headsas you kernels from the cobs: The He puts the remaining 24;000 might on an electric razor combine blows thehusks and bushels in storage on the farm to )though not quite so quickly). cobs out the rear of the machine, sell later when, he hopes, the The small -grain head is a broad and elevates the kernels to a prices will be better: revolving set of bars that rotates storage bin on the machine until like a short, wide ferris wheel they are unIdaded and taken to gathering the graih and pushing_ Stationary bins near the Miller it against a cutting bar in front of house: thE combine's cab. The kernels are dried, if The combine head for necessary, back at the farmstead. HOGS CAN RAISE harvesting corn (the corn head or Why dry the corn? Dryness VALUE OF CORN picker) looks like the metal helps prevent spoilage in fingers_ of a huge tin_ man;_ they storage. (Another way to prevent One reason John raises hogs run open-fisted through the rows spoilage is to treat the corn with a instead ofjust selling the corn of cornone row between each spoilage - inhibiting abid_before is to increase the value of the two fingers. At the base_ of the storage; this treatment is used for corn to more than the grain will fingers, the machine strips the corn that will be fed on the farm.) bring-in the market. stalks and pinches off the ears. Moisture content makes a Here's the reasoning: Theddhibihe tames the hUSk.- difference in the payment a Say it costs John $67 to raise a covered ears up the inclined farmer gets for his corn at the hog to market weight (not fingers foL. further processing, latal elevator. If his corn counting the cost of producing or leaVihg tribtt of the stalk in the Contains 16 percent moisture; the buying the young pig), and he field. farmeris paid less than for corn sells it for a_profit of $15after "Further processing" means With 15.5 percent moisture. The deducting the costs of

19 22

BEST co Y AVIIIIABLE production; including the corn the family. big investment in machinery and fed to the ribg. Under some Growing corn takes only a few buildings. The list of machinery conditions, he could say that $10 months of John's time. As long as and buildings fills_ 31/2 pages of of that profit represents the he can make money raising hogs computer printout paper. increated value he received for with that extra time=why not Back in his kitchen and feeding the corn to the hog raise them? It spreads his running through his list of instead of selling the corn financial risk over two machinery, J-Ohn figured the directly. The other S5 might enterprises. machinery's value at $112,000. represent what he_pa_ys himself It takes a Ibt of money to grow That's today's replacement value for labor and management. corn and hogs. It cost John and minus depreciation, rather than Perhaps a more pressing Mary $163,652 to conduct their his original cost minus reason for raising hogs is that farMing operation in 1975. That depreciation; John would have spare time on included $38,959 in payment on The depreciated value of his his hands if all he did was raise their debts; $21;250 in new buildings is $75,000, counting corn._ He has too much money machinery. $19,394 to rent original costs and major invested in land and buildings to farmland, $18,358 in fertiliter and iniprovements but not taking let either himself or his lime, and many other expenses. replacement costs into account. investment stand idle, when both Beyond those cash The Millers estimate that they can be earning more money for expenditures, the Millers have a are making a return of 6.5 _ percent on the capital that he manages:

JOHN AND MARY'S INCOME AND EXPENDITURES, 1975 CONTINUING COMMITMENTS Income Expenditures Farming has demanded a Crop sales $109,326 Labor $ 3,655 series of commitments from John Hog sales 666,820 Building Repairs 1,475 and Mary Miller; willing Machine hire 794 Machinery Repairs 5,042 commitments of their money and Government payments 150 Interest 8,500 their lives; starting in 1_960. Miscellaneous Feed (not John and Mary met at college Total $178,496 intlUding corn) 18,148 in the fifties,ataschool with a Seeds 4,875 reputation for graduating well- INCOME ...... $178,496 Herbicides & prepared prospective teachers EXPENDITURES :.163,652 InSactiCideS 7,243 the University of No_rthern lowa, Fertilizer & Lime 18,358 in nearby Cedar Falls. They were $ 14,844 Machine hire 3,926 married the year they graduated; LiVeStOCk expenses 1,102 1959. and started teaching that Fuel 2,625 fall, John, in general science and. Property Taxes 1;520 Mary in music. Miring 1975 the Value of assets (net Insurance 2,837 A year later, they moved in the worth) owned increased by $29,418 Utilities 1,931 tenant house on hit father's farm. due to reinvestment in the business Auto & Truck 1;294 Their reasons were and debt paymentBy Januar - Rent 19,394 Compelling: John's father farm 1977-the value of assets decreased 510,900 on the same number of Livestock Purchased1,190 had been rented for 8years hogti.--=becatist of lower Machinery while his father served in the and $24,000 on the gfain-7both PurchaSOS 21,250 State legislature; John's father_ because Of_low rprices ens! re -_ Building & Equipment was suffering from heart trouble; duced yields caused by drought. Purchases 1,475 and John liked working outsida Principal Payments The move had a familiar ring, On notes 38,959 John's father had moved back to Miscellaneous __803 the same family farm in the Total $163,652 thirties a fter_9 years of teaching. "Both my father and I were only sons," John explained; sifting through old newspaper clippings. "I suppose we felt that 20 23

LEST CRY AVAILABLE Mary Miller doesn't work in. the fields but plays an important role in the farm operation handling telephone calls, taking meals to the field and coordinating family activities to meet the farming schiltdule. She also keeps busy, like most suburban housewives, driving three crildren to various activities, and keeping up the house. Unlike most,she also teaches 21 young people; such as David Nichois, rightehow to play a piano in her family room. Of course, if John has his hands full in the held, as below, Mary is available ts) drive i-ito town for -a needed part. She'd like to travel more but has been to neighboring States and as far west as Yellowstone National Park on vacations.

=1. the responsibility of the fern Thoy got rid of all the beef differer would be ours someday, so why cows; By convert( .43 buildings was we not take it over now; while them and pulling fences, they of thos is a chance to keep it in shape?" converted _to growinig hogs and and thE So John began farming with planting all row crops (crops For it his dad in 1960, grown in a row, such as corn and a lot cf 1966, John's parents moved soybeans, rather than keeping clay log into Cedar Falls. The next year, the pasture. suitabil John and Mary made their next They consulted experts of a pa important commitment. Mariagerneht and agronomy be expo "We were two families living off specialists with the Cooperative bUShel: 240 tillable acres;" John Extension Service of Iowa State Anothe continued. "We had a beef COW University and soil and him wa herd and fed out their calves. We conservation experts with the_ - clay IN farrowed hogs twice year; We Soil Conservation Service (SCS) could e made lots of hay and kept a lot of Of the U.S. Department of acre fa acres in pasture. Using a crop Agriculture, On tt rotation; we usually planted 60 to a coup) 80 acres to corn. (Donna "I could see that we weren't soils, a making much progress in general This la' tenting. We talked about going GOOD FACTS HELPED only 70 back to school, perhaps working Thea the farm part time while teaching DECISIONMAKING to a col hill Write." farm. The Millers, however, decided From an SCS survey of the "Plan to stay on the farm. But only with VatibUS Stills in Black Hawk strict co drastic revisions. County; John learned the like tak 24 It's natural that Mary Miller's children should play musical instruments. Julie not only takes flute lessons at a nearby university but plays piano in her high school's jazz band.

I r,

Pork products, such as sausage and but beans, broColli, sweet peppers, sweet chops. are an important part of the Miller corn and tomatoes grown in their garden family diet. Of Course: And the hogs that and either canned or frozen by Mary pro Vide it come from their farm: But during August and September. The green unlike the good old days." the animal is baans, brocolli, sweet corn and tomatoes processed in town. The Millers have two last all year. Freezer dbors, Mary shows, freezers which they fill not only with pork above, serve as bulletin boardS, too. 11.111/1 without ever putting anything A lot of earth has to be moved foliage and massive root back in," John said, as he around to build terraces. If a structure prevent the brought out maps that IOCate the farmer can afford it, he hires big accumulated_water from cutting conservation projects on the earth-moving machines to come into the soil. The pipe intakes farm: "Someday, sooner rather in and rearrange the land. That take water below ground into a than later, you're gbing_to_go first time, John chose to do it tile network which eventually brokenot only in terms of himself with plows. In 1976; he- leads to a road ditch or nearby money; the land will also be could afford to have it done with stream. The waterways; too, bankrupt." large earth movers: empty into nearby streams or Armed with a conservation Terraces are only part of a marshes or ditches. plan, John took out the fences so system that john uses to control machinery could Operate more the flow of water. By breaking efficiently over larger fields and long slopes into shorter, gentler_ along the natural contours of the ones, theterraces Siow the runoff land. Then he plowed to change of rainwater to a "walk off:" Some DRAINAGE TILE the face of the land on his father's of the water is then absorbed into INSTALLED farm: the soil for later use. Yet heavy "I plowed and I plowed," JOhri rains will still run off John's In the lower areas, John recalled (even the memory of it fields-_ He has to see that the installed thousands of feet of seemed to tire him): Repeated runoff isn't damaging. drainage tile to help carry off plowing trips across the land The terraces lead to grass excess water. Some types of soil piled the soil into terraces that waterways or vertical intake need to be drained to be more follow the natural contours of the pipeS Which take away the excess productive- _ - land. providing steps Of water. The waterways are very There are 90,000 feet (17 miles) descending plateaus that slow shallow; they form rather wide of drainage tile ranging from 4 the runoff of water and rich grass troughs along_pathaof inches to 8 inches in diameter in topsoil. natural waterflow. The thick the land John works. (The

22 !.:.

When Brian Miller isn't filling tractors "tCs....T:t.' f1:^T with diesel fuel, or raising hogs in a 4-H Club project: or_playing_baseball (xr mowing the lavirL he may be found tearing along a dirt lane between maturing corn fields on an all-terrain - cycle, That is, when school's out.

average OW Of 5=inch tile, insurance company and $36,000 They converted old building installed, is 65 cents a foot:) from the Farmers Home use in the new system of raj: In 1968; the Millers made Administration (FmHA) to pay for hogs in confinement rathe an-Other commitment. the land, the tiling of it (to speed than on pasture. They conve That was the year John bought the flow of excess water), and a hay barn into a fihithing hi out his father's interest in the some terrace work (to protect the They transformed three calf farm's eguibmeht and livestock. investment). barns into one long farrowin Only a few months later; his The rest of the expense he house. They grassed over a father died. Since then; John has financed by borrowing on short- holding area for cattle, and I rented the original farm-268 term loans from local banks. added storage bins: ' acres; with buildingsfrom a FmHA is an agency of the U.S. When John's father.ind mi trust in his mother's name, Department of Agriculture which moved into Cedar Falls in 1.C. Four years later, the Millers provides loans to thousands of John and Mary moved into t took still another big step: farmers each year. Some of the parents' old house and start Gazing out the kitchen window money is borrowed to buy land, extensive remodeling. toward the pine trees he had some for operating expenses. The home was built in 187 planted as a child; John recalled "A lot of things a farmer does, John's great grandfather, what he was thinking in 1972 he does on faith alone," John Charles F. Miller, who came when he bought 160 acres of land said. Germany in 1868. in his own name next to his - Three years after he paid $625 No doubt Charles Miller w father's farm. The land cost $625 an acre for his 160 acres,_similar recognize the farmhome he I an acre. Two years earlier, the land nearby was selling for a century ago. Inside, a larg( price had been about half that $1,800 an acre. In 1977; some modern kitchen, living room much. was selling for more than $3,000 dining room provide a warm "I wag very_ nervous about an acre. environment for the Millers' I paying $625 an acre," John said: The Millers make new to-date lifestyle. Wings have He borrowed $60i000 from an commitments continuously. been added, but the exterior This is what the John Miller family looked like in 1976; when John and Mary were 38, Brad was 13, Julie; 15; and Brian; 12. The house was 99 but has been modernized. The family is standing beneath two trees that survived a storm that struck in June that year. John said he saw a dark wall coming toward him across the fields. He ran into a barn and put a vehicle up against the door. Then everything went dark. Julie looked out the kitchen window and saw the power pole behind the house .snap and live wires whipping around in the wind. If there had -been hail; it could have wiped out the Miller corn crop: Golfball size hail fell that night in Iowa just a few miles away. the original house would look Perhaps familiar. would and Furthermore, despite the satisfaction changes that 100 years have decisions i brought, Charles Miller would land. recognize the motivations, the When Jc attitude, perhaps even the style own the la of bis great-grandson, John. right to us Oh, John has substituted as good a tractors for horses and a it;" he is rs combine for the handcutting, that Charli stacking, and shucking of corn. recognize; He taps into a computer to help conservati him analyze his management least to Bil decisions (that would raise It is the Charles' eyebrow): But the gap of yea Charles Mifier who was 21 when Miller and he bought 80 acres and took a chance on farming in a foreign land would recognize the John Miller of the 1970's. He would recognize the spirit of a man who TRADI would stick_his neck out to buy A LIGH 160 acres of land and commit his life to-making a go of it in 20th While.fa century farming; despite the hold the ft outrageous risks of weather and to the land in; Urr

r r'

HH. t, p,Ivtimnts r; oti ttir t;cn. tt. ttios,r t).ivrt',r,!_ I' yr, r1,,ti

A-. 1.) .t incom- to

H .

.1,Hvytqc.ci

ro-

Firm or product names used in this publication are solely for the purpose of providing specific information. Mention of these names does not constitute warranty of a product by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or an endorsement of it by the Department to the exclusion of other products.

)fti 1. t...4')fo,tr,iph'; may be obtained from the Photography Division, Office of Governmental Aft.;_(n: Rcoin 530A, U.S: Department of Agriculture; Washington;D.C. 20290. Limited irt: ,iv.-:HAble free to news media. Others Day a small fee. August 1077 I , - -., . ;.7 j 4_5" o.,?frr,a,, 1.444"r dir i 44,1 c:}7 r A ",,-1-1'2 ;2"73,..ttir4.1; I.' .,rfr e ,t 4 "- ." I Vic. I It - I