farm 101

Iowa is home to 89,000 farms (2007 data) and 92% of Iowa's land is devoted to agriculture.

Iowa leads the nation in the production of corn, soybeans & pork.

The average Iowa farmer feeds 279 people each year.

This is soil, not dirt. Dirt lives under your fingernails.

Many things grow in this fertile soil.

Mom's garden had a bumper crop this year!

We came home with carrots, onion, green pepper, tomatoes

& {my favorite!} sweet corn.

My parents have been raising corn and soybeans since the 70's.

Dads shirt says:

"Friends don't let friends drive green tractors"

a gag gift from a friend, as

John Deere green is the only color tractor

on this farm and the only place he shops!

It is uncommon to see a corn stalk with three full ears of corn. A plant might produce three ears but one of them will often be a dud and not actually produce a cob with corn.

Dad was proud of this beauty. Iowa yields an average of 171 bushels of corn per acre.

One bushel of corn = 56 lbs.

One acre is 4,840 sq feet or

90.75 feet of a football field.

(the area shaded red)

These are called tassels.

Once the corn plant puts up a tassel,

the plants focus changes from making roots/leaves to producing grain.

All of the plants resources will go towards making the biggest ear of corn possible.

This is looking north from Mom & Dads.

A person could go into serious overload in Iowa in August.

Everything is green.

Everywhere you look - green.

So many shades, more shades then you could dream of...

These are soybeans.

Soybean green is different than corn green.

When they wave in the wind the under side of their leaves almost look silver.

Next up:

The Iowa State Fair