Why do we grow so much corn in Illinois?

I think most farmers know this, so I guess this blog is mainly for my non-ag friends.  The Midwest and Illinois in particular is blessed with the right soils and the right climate to grow corn.  Hot days that cool off at night is just what the corn plant needs.  Most of our soils do not need irrigation in most years to produce abundantly.  Soybeans are a perfect crop for alternate years.  This gives Illinois a competitive advantage in corn production.

Strides in technology and mechanization have made corn production nothing short of miraculous.  Corn is a photosynthesis giant in terms of capturing the sun's energy and converting it to calories and nutrients that humans and animals can both utilize.  Because corn has separate male and female parts we can select particular genetic traits relatively easily in comparison to many other crops.  While a good bit of the corn is the yellow varieties that are used for feed, fuel, sugar production and other general purposes, there is enough diversity to support corn for many other purposes as well.  Illinois produces lots of sweetcorn.  Sweetcorn is one of the most popular vegetables sold.  Popcorn is another variation that even Native Americans ate.  It is a good high fiber product.  High oil corn is just what it says it is.  Corn oil is one of our healthy oils.  White corn and blue corn are processed into corn chips, corn tortillas, massa, hominy and other food products.

Corn is harvested dry so it can be stored and sold all year around.  Most of us like having at least some fresh vegetables in the winter, so places like Florida, California, and South Texas grow many of our fresh vegetables.   The area south of the Mason Dixon Line has the perfect climate for cotton, so they produce a lot of our natural fiber.  Cattle herds in the west take advantage of the vast rangeland on the great plains to take advantage of that resource.  There was a time in our history when cattle were shipped to Illinois and Iowa to be fed out before processing.  Over time, we have come to realize that the dryer climate in the west makes it easier to deal with livestock waste out there.  That means we ship our corn west instead of bringing the cattle east.  That is probably a health advantage to the cattle too.

This blog is getting long so I will try to summarize a bit.  First let me say that I am all for locally grown foods, but we need to realize that crops have become more specialized because there are advantages to that specialization.  Yes there was a time when our farming practices were much more diverse and more diversity would be a good thing; but we need to consider the efficiency of crops to photosynthesize and grow.  I look forward to the day when midwestern farmers produce more specialty crops, but I don't expect that corn will cease to be the king of midwestern production.