New Corn Production Course Offers Farmer & Agronomist Insights

Taking a deep dive into corn with a three-hour course builds on the foundational courses of Ag 101, Sustainability and the Focus on Crops course to round out our Corn Program. With the background of those courses, the Corn Production Course gets to the specifics of producing the crop in different geographies and deep into physiology. All of this comes together to build confidence and trust.

Detailed lessons in this course offer up video, downloadables and vetted links on include: 

• Growing Corn in the Midwest – Brian Scott aka @thefarmerslife talks through the basics of crop production and shows us around. He explains how planters work & gives us a look at grain bins. (Some of this video is also in the soybean course.)
• Understanding the Corn & Soybean Connection – Often when people in the Midwest talk about corn, soybeans are a major part of the conversation. Two farmers – Warren Stemme in Missouri and Eric Wolfer in Ohio – explain why that’s the case, how rotation works on farm and the benefits to corn. (Included in the soy course too.)
• Southern Corn Production & Marketing – Louisiana’s Marshall Hardwick talks about growing corn along the Mississippi River and some of the way the crop is marketed. 
• In-depth Discussion of Corn Physiology & Crop Production -- Iowa State extension agronomist Meaghan Anderson gets us deep into corn walking us through the production year, showing us some of the things farmers look for as harvest nears and talking about the big challenges the crops can faced. 

The Grounded in Ag team delivers three lessons that provide additional information: 

• Interesting facts & trivia about corn including definitions, major geographies, primary crop groupings, and more. Done by EllaMae Reiff who interned for us while attending Purdue University. 
• A visual look at the year in corn production, an overview of the various activities of a season, information about geographies, and getting corn to market. 
• Another lesson provides a range of useful resources – organizations, media & events – for people working in the corn industry.