The Fantastic Corn Quest Can you find the corn? Written by Susan M. Pankey
Funding Provided By: Photos courtesy of Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom, Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska, Nebraska Corn Board, John Deere, Purdue University - Department of Agronomy, Big Stock Photo - azpworldwide, Orville Hoffschneider & Sons. Front cover photo by Leslie Means.
The Fantastic Corn Quest Can you find the corn? Written by Susan M. Pankey 5225 S. 16th Street, Lincoln, NE 68512 www.nefbfoundation.org 2012, Published by the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation 3
You already know a lot about corn. You may even be a corn expert! You know there is sweet corn that is delicious to eat all year round. You know that sweet corn has plump juicy kernels that grow on corn cobs. 4
In the summer, your family buys fresh corn-on-the-cob at grocery stores, markets, and farm stands. Other times of the year, your family gets sweet corn that is either frozen or canned. 5
So, what else is there to know about corn? Put on your detective hat and come along. We re going to look for corn and find it in some surprising places. Ready? Let s see if you can find the corn. 6
Corn is a food that you, your family and friends enjoy. Can you find who on this page eats corn? Every person and animal on this page eats corn! Corn is more than just a food for people it s used to make food for pigs, chickens, cows, horses, dogs, cats and other animals too. Food for farm animals is called feed and corn is a major ingredient in many animal feeds. 7
Take a close look at these two corn pictures do you see any differences? Can you find the kind of corn used to make animal feed? Which kind do you eat on the cob? Sweet Corn Field Corn Corn from a taller type of plant is used to make animal feed. It is called field corn. Sweet corn grows on a smaller type of plant and that s the kind of corn you eat on the cob, frozen or out of a can. Do you think farmers grow more sweet corn or field corn? 8
Most of the corn grown in the United States is field corn. Only a very small portion just 5% of the corn U.S. farmers grow is sweet corn. Field corn grows taller than sweet corn and the leaves and ears of field corn are bigger too. Field corn is picked or harvested when the kernels are dry and hard. Sweet corn is picked when the kernels are soft and juicy. 9
People and animals like to eat corn served lots of different ways. What corn foods do you see on this page? Photo: Beauty shot of corn foods being served (i.e., out of packages). Traditional corn foods (corn on the cob, corn chips, popcorn) are in the foreground and surrounded by other foods that have corn as an ingredient. All the foods on this page are corn foods! You eat sweet corn right off the ear, but field corn is used as an ingredient in many different food products to make them tastier, healthier and easier to eat. 10
Here s another mystery for you. Which part of an ear of corn do you think is used as an ingredient in other foods? Pericarp (outside) Also called the hull or seed coat. Endosperm (inside) Embryo or germ The corn kernel right! Every corn kernel has three different parts. The pericap is the outer, hard shell that protects the kernel while it is growing. It is also called a hull or seed coat. 11
Most food ingredients that come from corn are made from the inside starchy part of the kernel called the endosperm. Corn starch from the endosperm helps make foods sweet and the right texture. Endosperm (inside) Corn syrup is one ingredient made from corn starch that is used as a natural sweetener in many foods and drinks. 12
Near the tip of the corn kernel is the embryo or germ that holds corn oil. Families often use corn oil for cooking and baking. It is also an ingredient in foods like mayonnaise and margarine. Embryo or germ 13
Can you name some food products that have corn, corn starch or corn oil in them? This picture may help! How many food products did you list? 14
Let s explore more foods with corn ingredients. Flour made from corn is used to help make gravies and sauces thicker and is in lots of baking mixes. Corn oil is used to make many salad dressings and potato chips. Corn starch is used in baby foods, soups, puddings, snack foods, chewing gums and many more different foods. 15
Take a look at the ingredient lists on your favorite foods do you see any corn? What s your favorite food or drink that has corn as an ingredient? 16
This truck has something inside it that is made from corn starch. It s not as easy to find as you might think...can you figure out what it is? Here s a hint: it s not in the truck cab or cargo area. Do you know where the corn is? It s in the gas tank! This truck is driven with a special gasoline that includes ethanol made from corn starch. More and more, people are driving with gas that includes corn ethanol because it is considered cleaner and greener than other types of engine fuels. Can you figure out why? 17
Gas with corn ethanol is greener because it is one of the renewable resources that is available today. It is renewable because when you need more, you can grow it. Many other types of fuel come from sources that are not renewable. Corn ethanol is cleaner because it burns more completely than other fuels and produces fewer emissions into the air. Next time your family stops at a gas station, look to see if you re getting fuel with ethanol in it. 18
You ve seen corn as an ingredient in many different foods and as an ingredient in fuel for cars and small trucks. Can you find corn in any other types of products? Look closely and see if you can find corn in this picture! All of the items to be packed have corn starch in them including the packing peanuts! Packing peanuts made from corn starch are biodegradable, which means they re friendly to the environment. 19
Corn starch and corn oil are used in lots of things that may surprise you, which of these products have corn in them? You can find corn in pastes and glues; printing inks, dyes and poster paints; candles, ceramics, paper products and wallpaper; rubber tires, ceiling tiles, plastics and kitty litter. There are even textile fibers such as carpet and cloth made with corn. 20
Now for the biggest mystery of them all how does a corn plant become all of these different products? To find out, let s start at the beginning with a corn seed. Can you find a corn seed in this picture? soybeans wheat dry edible beans oats corn grain sorghum The corn kernel is the corn seed! 21
Each year, when the soil begins to warm up, farmers use machines called corn planters to plant lots of rows of corn kernels in their fields. 22
Before long, a small plant starts to grow out of each kernel and pushes its way through the dirt where it can get lots of sunshine and rain. Over the summer, the plants grow taller and bigger until new kernels are ready to be harvested. Soil Level Where is the corn kernel in this picture? Corn seed (kernel) 23
Tassel In addition to the kernel, what are the other parts of a corn plant? Can you name them all? Leaves As the plants grow, ears form on the stalks between the leaves of the plants. The tassels on the top of the corn plants provides pollen for the corn silks growing out of each ear and the silk strands become corn kernels. Leaves of a different kind the corn husks protect the kernels inside the ears as they grow. Silk Husk Kernels Ear Stalk Roots Kernel Inside: Embryo or germ Endosperm Outside: Pericarp (seed coat or hull) 24
When the corn is ready to be picked, a farmer uses a machine called a combine to harvest it. The combine cuts down the stalks, picks the ears off the stalks, removes the corn husks and separates the kernels from the rest of the plant. 25
While the farmer uses the combine to pick the corn, the kernels are kept in a storage bin or hopper on the combine. The long arm on a combine is called an auger. When the hopper is full, the auger empties the corn kernels into a truck, wagon or grain cart for transport. Where do you think the corn kernels go next? 26
Once the corn kernels are harvested, they may be stored in grain bins right on the farm to be used for animal feed. Or, the kernels will be taken to a grain elevator for storage. Do you see a grain bin in this picture? A grain bin is a large storage building for grain in this case, corn! 27
No matter where the corn kernels go next, they need to be dried before they can be used. In grain bins, air dries the corn kernels naturally. In grain elevators, large dryers may be used to help dry the kernels faster. When the kernels are dry enough, a farmer may use them for animal feed or the kernels may be taken to a processing plant or refinery. 28
Corn kernels travel by truck, barge and train to get to processing plants and refineries across the U.S. and all over the world. Can you find where the corn is stored in each of the pictures on this page? 29
At the plants and refineries, corn kernels are processed into all the various corn items and ingredients including corn syrup, corn starch, corn germ, corn oil, corn gluten and corn flour. Then the corn kernels make the best trip of all into many, many different foods and products and back to you to enjoy and use! 30
Corn Fun Facts 1. Farmers grow corn on every continent except Antarctica. 2. One bushel of corn will sweeten more than 400 cans of non-diet soft drinks. 3. There are about 800 kernels in 16 rows on each ear of corn. 4. One pound of corn consists of approximately 1,300 kernels. 5. The corncob (ear) is actually part of the corn plant s flower. 6. The main ingredient in most dry pet food is corn. 7. Corn is America s number one field crop. Corn leads all other crops in value and volume of production. 8. Corn is used to produce fuel alcohol. Fuel alcohol makes gasoline burn cleaner, reducing air pollution and it doesn t pollute the water. 9. More than half of the crop puts meat on American dinner tables. A bushel of corn fed to livestock produces: 5.6 pounds of retail beef, 13 pounds of retail pork, 19.6 pounds of chicken or 28 pounds of catfish. Glossary Ethanol: A fuel made from the sugars in corn and other plants. Pure ethanol is usually blended with gasoline. Renewable Resource: Any natural resource that can be replaced naturally with time. Emissions: A substance put into the air. Combine: A farm machine used to harvest crops. It cuts and separates the corn from the cob. Harvest: To gather the ripened crop from the field. Susan Pankey is a writer and corn lover who lives in Vermont. She spent her growing up years in Virginia, where she learned a great appreciation for agriculture since both her parents grew up on farms in that state. Needless to say, Susan has eaten lots and lots of corn in her lifetime and enjoyed many foods and other products made with corn. In conjunction with Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom, Susan also wrote a children s chapter book about corn titled T.C. Cobb and the Cornstalk Riddles in 1998 and a storybook about soybeans called Why the Brown Bean Was Blue written in 1992 and updated in 2009.
The Fantastic Corn Quest