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)