Corn Belt Research

14000

US Production of corn in millions of bushels

carvin historical interactions with the corn belt

(US Government)

12000 10000 8000 6000 4000

300

2000 Farm Size in Acreage (US Government)

200 100 Dollar Price of a Bushel of Corn

$2

(US Government)

2012

$1

Change in Corn Production due to Change in Climate

2013

(The Climate Corporation)

Average annual temperature in the Midwest

54oF

54oF 1938

Corn Belt Energy

(US Government)

Electric Company for the Midwest

Current

(Corn Belt Energy)

US Production d off Ethanol h l in millions off gallons ll ll

2004

Green Plains Renewable Energy (Green Plains)

1946 1842

Irrigation of the Midwest (Dams / Reservoirs)

1978

Dams in the Midwest raise the levels of the Mississippi River downstream

Broad use of fertilizer (Artificial Manure)

200 2004 Biotechnical Bi h i l advances in corn

1975 Mass production / use of trucks for shipping

(Hart)

(Smith)

(Hart)

1837

John Deere Company

Pioneer of farming practices and technology

Current

1860

Other crops crops dominate Midwest 1870 Wheat and Cotton (Agriculture in the Classroom)

1860

Hybridization of Corn

(Deere & Company)

1949

Improvement of farming technology (Smith)

1970

1933 Agricultural Adjustment Administration pays farmers to reduce their land with Agricultural Adjustment Act

1870 (Reinhardt)

1860

Farm sizes double with new technology

1897

George Washington Carver devises his Crop Rotation

(National Inventors Hall of Fame)

1908

First use of corn-based fuel

(Princeton University)

1945

1982

(Reinhardt)

2004

2005 Great Lakes Basin damaged from Mass Production of Corn (Great Lakes Commission)

(Thiessen)

New uses for Corn invented

2007 C B lt Corn Belt produces 50% of US corn

1980

(Encyclopedia Britannica)

(Combs)

Industrialization

Henry Ford and the Model-T (Anderson)

1972 1997 Corn Belt Ecoregions designated by EPA (EPA)

(Fuel Testers)

2012 Predicted massive decline in production (Encyclopedia Britannica)

1870 AD

1900 AD

2013 AD

1950 AD (Great Lakes Commission)

Natural Inputs and Constituents

carvin

5+ hardiness

flyways through the Corn Belt reveal the natural zones of predators for Corn

Parc Pa arcell rcc Specialtty Co Corn n Are reas

gradient reveals the hardiness zones from North to South, explaining best temperatures for corn growth

[20,000,000 bushels]

[10,000,000 bushels] map of counties in the Corn Belt and production of corn represented in shades of green

Largest US cities

USDA Corn Production Map

[1,000,000 bushels] wind map reveals a trend toward carrying airborne pesticides toward the Great Lakes Basin

each major river flowing through the Corn Belt to create the Mississippi River Delta Basin

USDA Hardiness Map

chemical manipulations of corn as a technology

petrolium nitrogen Primarily petrolium based, the other chemically produced technology used in the production of corn is pesticides. These vary widely in type and compound, and are produced with oil based products at a manufacturing plant before disbursement.

manufacturing plant

Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus compromise the primary elements of chemically produced fertilizer. These elements are processed at a manufacturing plant to the specifications of the order before being shipped to the farm.

potassium

production and use of chemical agents phosphorus Aerial dumping of pesticides over corn fields ensures complete coverage and removal of undesirable species / predators to crops. Also ensures crops themselves can absorb the chemicals.

aerial crop dusting tractor and boom

Since corn is a shallow rooted crop, fertilizers are spread across the surface of a cornfield and allowed to penetrate the ground.

Through this method, very little of the overall fertilizer is actually absorbed by corn and a majority is subject to runoff.

Result of chemical manipulations to corn fields are a monospecies dependent on human manipulation for proper growth

pesticides cover everything to remove undesirable species

fertilizer unabsorbed by plants to enter water table

water table to watershed Majority of elements in fertilizer as well as chemical products are not absorbed and rather enter tributaries, eventually entering nearby bodies of water. Often adverse environmental and human health effects can be linked to this runoff.

cycle of agents and environment

nitrogen

Removal of any predators and tertiary predators as a result of pesticide use petrolium

potassium

pesticide induced monoculture phosphorus

Introduction of fertilizer due to bred dependency on artificial nutrients

fertilizer-dependent mature corn

Attraction of new predators and immunity of old predators

carvin

the environment beyond: new wilderness

carvin

Decreased yeilds result in heavier use of fertilizer, compounding the issue.

(Union of Concerned Scientists)

out of control human systems due to feedback Irrigation practices quickly remove water from site’s groundplane as well as water table to preserve crops. The water carries a majority of the fertilizers and pesticides used in the field with it.

(Organic Trade Association)

Pesticides function in the same fashion through the waterways, (PAN North America)

Fertilizers become bound to the path of the pesticides, which provide a clear route to headwaters of major bodies. (University of Missouri) (Biello)

spillover disrupts natural ecosystems

feb jan de c

ma r

may

nov

wild growing seasons support new wilderness

oct

(Union of Concerned Scientists)

apr

Pesticides are washed from above ground surfaces, while fertilizer is irrigated along with water table into tributaries.

jun

jul

se p aug

Originally single growning seasons ended in August, but farming practices have generated a new wild growing pattern.

(CBC News)

The end result can be random extreme algal blooms in major bodies of water like Lake Erie. These in turn will produce hypoxic zones once the algea dies.

(Schober)