# Anybody here have a background in growing corn? Tell me about it **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** liquor-alcohol\ **Created:** [August 27, 2025, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541 "2025-08-27T23:44:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/21 "2025-08-28T20:23:37Z")
Wikipedia confirms, assuming no one is pulling its leg. > **[Maize | Description](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize#Description)** > > Maize is a tall annual grass with a single stem, ranging in height from 1.2 to 4 m (4 to 13 ft). The long narrow leaves arise from the nodes or joints, alternately on opposite sides on the stalk. Maize is monoecious, with separate male and female flowers on the same plant. At the top of the stem is the tassel, an inflorescence of male flowers; their anthers release pollen, which is dispersed by wind. The female inflorescence, some way down the stem from the tassel, is first seen as a The grains ... > Maize has short-day photoperiodism, meaning that it requires nights of a certain length to flower. Flowering further requires enough warm days above 10 °C (50 °F). The control of flowering is set genetically; the physiological mechanism involves the phytochrome system. Tropical cultivars can be problematic if grown in higher latitudes, as the longer days can make the plants grow tall instead of setting seed before winter comes. On the other hand, growing tall rapidly could be convenient for producing biofuel. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/22 "2025-08-28T20:31:30Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Unfortunately, too much fermentation leads to spoilage, so not much silage is produced. Best estimate I could find was that about 7% of field corn is chopped into silage in the USA. Here’s a video of corn being chopped into silage in Indiana. Those machines are some plant-eating monsters. \ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRt6hrM507A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRt6hrM507A) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/23 "2025-08-28T20:35:46Z")
Important things are covered above, especially wind pollination. Corn can be planted somewhat densely and is relatively easy to grow. But don’t expect a huge crop, it’s one of the things that remains cheap at the grocery store. If you plant at the same time, keep an eye on the silk, when it starts to brown it’s close to ready, pick a sacrificial cob or open carefully, and if a kernel secretes a sort of milky liquid when pricked it’s ready, and the other cobs are probably ready too. I leave the plants standing over winter and pull the next year. I haven’t messed too much with “three sisters” planting because I can’t grow squash well, but beans go nearby and can sometimes use corn for support. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/24 "2025-08-28T20:36:20Z")
And here’s a video of corn being combined. Notice the difference between the green stalks being chopped and the dry, brown stalks being combined. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPF6cXs1vgw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPF6cXs1vgw) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/25 "2025-08-28T20:40:16Z")
From the POV of a kid: When the field is first plowed, thousands of rocks are brought to the surface that would damage the cultivating equipment, so the farmer will drive along the windrows with a sledge behind his tractor or a scoop mounted at its front while the kids will “pick rock,” large and small and put them in the receptacle. When a field is left fallow for the season, wild mustard will sprout that would spoil the hay. Kids will go through the field and pull it out, though the roots offer stubborn resistance. “Knee high by the Forther July” is an old belief, and soon thereafter, when the Midwest becomes a giant steam room, kids will go through the corn cutting off the flowering tassels on the top of each ear, so that the growth energy is concentrated down in the ear. Most of the tassels are above shoulder level, and so each nigh its difficult to raise one’s arms. A lot of farms are corn/dairy combined concerns, but the OP didn’t ask about any of that other shit. Overall… it’s character-building. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/26 "2025-08-28T20:45:51Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > “Knee high by the Forther July” is an old belief, and soon thereafter, when the Midwest becomes a giant steam room, kids will go through the corn cutting off the flowering tassels on the top of each ear, so that the growth energy is concentrated down in the ear. Most of the tassels are above shoulder level, and so each nigh its difficult to raise one’s arms. My wife’s family (on her father’s side) are farmers in central Illinois. She spent several summers as a kid/teenager down there, and detasseling corn was one of the jobs she was given: hot, sweaty, dirty, tiring work. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/27 "2025-08-28T20:50:35Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > When the field is first plowed, thousands of rocks are brought to the surface that would damage the cultivating equipment, so the farmer will drive along the windrows with a sledge behind his tractor or a scoop mounted at its front while the kids will “pick rock,” large and small and put them in the receptacle. From the POV of a kid who grew up on a farm: I have never seen this done. Where and when did this happen, in your experience? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/28 "2025-08-28T21:00:02Z")
Northwest Illinois & southwest Wisconsin in the 1970’s Lucky those who’ve never picked rock. I realize technology has replaced this chore. I do didn’t farm with horses, but I worked for old guys who had. Nubs for fingers: those horses didn’t have E-stops on them when they were being chained. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/29 "2025-08-28T21:04:07Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Northwest Illinois & southwest Wisconsin in the 1970’s Lucky those who’ve never picked rock. Lots of glacial till. Great soil but definitely rocky. Further southwest, where I’ve watched farming (and even participated in it a little), it’s just topsoil over clay, and the nearest rock is probably bedrock. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/30 "2025-08-28T21:10:55Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Great soil but definitely rocky. Black as coal and it smelled wonderful when freshly tilled. There was a line in that movie _Ride With the Devil_ where one of the Confederates father had traveled to Wisconsin: “dirt so rich you could eat it like pork.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/31 "2025-08-28T22:26:07Z")
I doubt many sweet corn growers, whether for home or market are settling for varieties that only produce a single ear per stalk. Even early types mostly give two or more ears. Example: > **[Sweet Corn Early Sunglow Hybrid Seeds | Hybrid Sweet Corn](https://ferrymorse.com/products/sweet-corn-early-sunglow-hybrid-seeds)** > > Grow deliciously sweet and tender corn with Sweet Corn Early Sunglow Hybrid Seeds. Experience the taste of summer with this high-quality sweet corn variety. Some grow heirloom colored kernel types such as Bloody Butcher for decoration, while corn useful for grinding to make flour is another specialty. Field (non-sweet) corn is preferred by a few people for roasting, with lime and salt added. The genetics of sweet corn has gotten complicated. > **[What are the differences between the various types of sweet corn?](https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/faq/what-are-differences-between-various-types-sweet-corn)** ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/32 "2025-08-28T23:11:34Z")
Corn in a silo is frick’n _dangerous_. Don’t get in a silo! ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/33 "2025-08-28T23:33:13Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Corn in a silo is frick’n _dangerous_. Nitpick: silage is stored in a silo. Now, silage might be chopped corn, so this statement is technically correct. Harvested corn (the kernels) is stored in a bin. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/34 "2025-08-28T23:50:57Z")
Then what’s a grain elevator? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/35 "2025-08-28T23:57:14Z")
Typically, a grain elevator is a larger, third-party facility where farmers (plural) take their grain (corn, soybeans, wheat) to be formally weighed, measured for moisture content, and stored (along with the harvest from other farmers) as part of the process of transferring it to a grain processor. The collected grain would eventually be shipped (by train or truck) to a processing plant. A particular elevator might be owned by the local farmers as a co-op, or it might be owned by one of the big processors (ADM, Cargill, etc.). Grain elevators: [![](https://kansasfarmfoodconnection.org/sites/default/files/styles/header/public/gettyimages-609089708_header.jpeg?itok=eoy-etn_) ](https://kansasfarmfoodconnection.org/sites/default/files/styles/header/public/gettyimages-609089708_header.jpeg?itok=eoy-etn_) [![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/bltdd43779342bd9107/blt393d8d31de69deaa/638f3793b8bf2b03327bbe40/Getty_20grain_20facility_20aerial.jpg) ](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/bltdd43779342bd9107/blt393d8d31de69deaa/638f3793b8bf2b03327bbe40/Getty_20grain_20facility_20aerial.jpg) A grain _bin_ is smaller, and would be where a farmer would temporarily store their harvested grain - probably on their own property - prior to transporting it to the local elevator. Grain bins: [![](https://www.tamsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/72334707_2445597525477181_3131739927172087808_o.jpg) ](https://www.tamsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/72334707_2445597525477181_3131739927172087808_o.jpg) [![](https://d3otus7o5uizil.cloudfront.net/general-uploads/_1026x767_crop_center-center_none/SiouxSteel-FarmBin4.jpg) ](https://d3otus7o5uizil.cloudfront.net/general-uploads/_1026x767_crop_center-center_none/SiouxSteel-FarmBin4.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/36 "2025-08-29T00:02:00Z")
Nope. I’ve plowed cornfields and never had any issues. I found lots of arrowheads when I was a kid, though. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/37 "2025-08-29T00:07:25Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > I’ve plowed cornfields and never had any issues. Same here. I plowed a fair amount of wheatfields as a kid in central Kansas. No rocks to be found. As an aside: very little plowing is done these days, at least around here. No-till farming is the preferred method now. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/38 "2025-08-29T00:21:03Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Same here. I plowed a fair amount of wheatfields as a kid in central Kansas. No rocks to be found. This map shows the extent of the ice sheets and glacial advances in the prehistoric Midwest. Central Kansas was never glaciated in that era, while northwestern Illinois and some of southwestern Wisconsin (as mentioned by @Slithy_Tove ) were underneath glaciers several times. (Also, note the gray “driftless area” in southwestern Wisconsin. The topography there looks completely different from the rest of the state, because it didn’t get flattened repeatedly by glaciers.) [![](https://cdn.britannica.com/18/64918-050-E2C72282/areas-ice-sheets-Wisconsin-altitudes-Kansan-Nebraskan.jpg) ](https://cdn.britannica.com/18/64918-050-E2C72282/areas-ice-sheets-Wisconsin-altitudes-Kansan-Nebraskan.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/39 "2025-08-29T00:31:19Z")
That’s where I grew up: the driftless area where the glaciers collided and left an open zone where they crumpled up the land. So hilly the dairy farmers there used milking cans with flat sides because if they tipped over and started rolling they’d never see them again ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541/40 "2025-08-29T00:55:25Z")
Kansas doesn’t have a bunch of little rocks under the surface. It has a slab of limestone the size of the Mediterranean Sea that could be chopped up and used for building [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Stone_Fence_Posts_P5310545.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Stone_Fence_Posts_P5310545.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-here-have-a-background-in-growing-corn-tell-me-about-it/1022541.md?page=3)