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Tagged: corn

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Agriculture

8:51 am

Wed May 8, 2013

It's tough going right now for Missouri, Illinois corn growers

Credit (via Flickr/Dodo-Bird)

By Maria Altman

Originally published on Wed May 8, 2013 7:54 am

Farmers in Missouri, Illinois and much of the Midwest are having a tough time getting their corn planted.

The US Department of Agriculture says in Illinois just 7 percent of the corn crop is in the ground; while in Missouri it’s 22 percent.

Usually, nearly half of the nation’s corn has been planted by this time.

Agriculture

4:13 pm

Wed February 20, 2013

The seeds of genetic modification

Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media

Researchers at Monsanto chart the progression of a corn plant over 10 weeks: seed, immature plant, callus, early shoot, shoots, early rooting and advanced rooting. Monsanto fills growth chambers reflecting diverse climate conditions with myriad seed samples.

By Amy Mayer

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The vast majority of the corn and soybeans in United States grow from seeds that have been genetically modified. The technology is barely 30 years old and the controversy surrounding it somewhat younger. But how did it even become possible?

Business Beat

12:35 pm

Wed November 21, 2012

Feeding your neighbors and the world

By Kristofor Husted

Now that it’s Thanksgiving, the eating season has begun. Coming up we’ll take a look at how the U.S. helps feed the world, but first, let’s take a look in our own back yard. The local food banks, pantries, shelters and soup kitchens have picked up in business. KBIA’s Ben Mahnken reports that volunteerism and donations are up this year.

Agriculture

3:11 pm

Tue November 20, 2012

Drought spells tough times for US corn exporters

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Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media

This 20-barge flotilla will be pushed by Ingram towboats from the Upper Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico before the corn and soybeans in the cover-top barges and the metallic ore and shredded rubber in the open barges will be exported overseas.

Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media

A look inside one of the covered corn barges in the flotilla. This barge, which has a fiberglass top that protects the grain from the weather, is holding 1,600 tons of corn.

Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media

First mate Tyler Banicki stands atop a corn barge on a 20-barge flotilla headed to the Gulf of Mexico. To the right, Captain Ed Henleben checks out the Mississippi River. The R. Clayton McWhorter towboat in the rear will push these barges down river.

Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media

Experienced deckhand Billy Vanhorn catches hold of a rope before we check out an empty barge.

Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media

This tank barge carries liquids, like soybean oil, diesel fuel, petroleum and gas.

Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media

One of the smaller tugs that pushes barges into rectangular units in harbors along the Mississippi.

Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media

Grain barges are between 195 and 200 feet long and 35 feet wide.

By Abbie Fentress Swanson

While the U.S. remains the world’s biggest supplier of corn, American farmers will lose a portion of the global corn market this year.

The Midwest drought devastated the normally robust corn harvest, which has led to higher corn prices and plummeting corn stocks. In a normal year, the U.S. exports more than 1 billion bushels of corn to markets worldwide, but with low domestic supply it’s a tough year for corn exporters – the USDA predicts U.S. corn exports will be at a 40-year low this year.

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