Kansas Corn Tour

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Corn tour put on the Kansas Corn Association. I was excited to learn more about corn and its various uses. I admit when I didn’t know much about corn, outside of the obvious. We all know that corn tastes amazing, but there is more to corn than the cob.

 

Here are 5 things I learned while on the Kansas Corn Tour

• There are two types of corn.
o Field corn is primarily grown for livestock and ethanol production. But I’m sure you are wondering how it’s made? Well, once the corn is fully matured, its shelled off the corn cob, then stored in a silo.
o Sweet Corn – is harvested when kernels are soft and soft, making it perfect for eating.
o The difference between field corn and sweet corn is essentially texture if you happen to bite field corn you would probably break your teeth.

• Environmental Practices.
o The US population increases every day, how can the production of corn keep up? Farmers are improving the production of corn, but coming up with innovative ways to develop and sustain crops. For instance, farmers have moved from the traditional forms of watering crops to implementing underground irrigation which helps to water crops in a few days versus a week.

• Ethanol Production
o Ethanol production which is used to create cleaner forms of gas and even alcohol is derived from corn. Most of the US ethanol production is made from corn. Ethanol made from corn can also product various forms of alcohol including whiskey, bourbon, beer, and more. Just remember to thank your corn friends next time you take a sip of your favorite spirit.

• Uses of Technology
o Have you ever wonder how you always seem to have that perfect packet of corn? Well, you can thank technology for that. While on the corn tour, we witness corn sampled from each truck via a sleek machine. The machine tests each sampling to perfection and if there are imperfections, the corn is most likely used for field corn or sold a less price point.

• Benefits of corn
o Corn usually receives a bad rep because it’s dubbed as a carb. But its also a starch and a great starch at that! It’s high in fiber, which helps out a mom as they are selecting a complimenting side for dinner. It also helps that it tastes good as well.

I hope you’ve learned something new about Corn. I learned so much that I cannot put it all into one blog post. But stay tuned as a will be sharing a corny surprise before the end of the month. In the meantime, what to learn more about corn? Follow the Kansas Corn Association for more info.

(This post was sponsored by Kansas Corn)

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