Download Crops Barn

Crops Barn
Objective: to introduce students the benefits and uses of Corn, corn products and how Corn
is produced.
SOL’s 1.2.1 the student will investigate and understand that plants have life needs, and
functional parts and can be classified according to certain characteristics. Key concepts
include :
Plant needs food, light, water, and a place to grow (1.4a)
Plant parts: seeds, roots, stems, leaves, blossoms, fruit (1.4b)
Plant characteristics : edible,/non edible, flowering/non flowering evergreen/deciduous (1.4c)
4.2.1 The student will investigate and understand basic plant anatomy and reproductive
processes. Key concepts include;
General plant anatomy (4.4a)
Structures and processes related to reproduction (4.4b)
Background This information was compiled by our Farmer/Cooperator and friend Elaine
Yankey, thank you Elaine. There is a lot of information here, you will not get the chance to go
over all of it with the students but it is great information to have ready to go over.
HISTORY OF CORN IN VIRGINIA
Corn is as important to us today as it was in the beginning to native peoples in ancient times.
Corn was called mahiz by the Native Americans who first met Columbus. Today, corn is known
as maize throughout most of the world. According to Indian legend, corn was “the food of the
gods that created the earth.”
Corn is native to the Americas. Until Columbus introduced corn to Europe, it was not grown
outside the Americas. We don’t know exactly how corn evolved, but most scientists believe that
modern corn probably is a domesticated descendant of two types of grasses known as teosinte
and tripsacum. Both are grasses that grow wild in various parts of the Americas. Corn as we
know it today would not exist if it weren't for the humans who cultivated and developed it. It is
a human invention, a plant that does not exist naturally in the wild. It can only survive if planted
and protected by humans.
Native Americans referred to corn, squash and beans as the “Three Sisters”—sisters who
should never be apart—sisters who should be planted together. From the Native Americans,
European colonists learned to use a stick to dig a hole into which they placed a kernel of corn, a
bean, and a squash seed, along with a dead fish. As the fish decayed, it provided fertilizer for
the plants. The corn stalk grew tall and provided support on which the bean vine grew. The
squash vine spread over the ground and its leaves provided shade to help prevent the growth of
weeds and helped hold moisture in the ground. These three plants were important sources of
food for the colonists. In fact, corn was vital to the survival of the English colonists during
their first winters in Virginia.
Corn was an important part of the diet of the Native Americans. They taught the colonists
numerous ways to prepare corn. Of course, they ate corn-on-the-cob in the summer. Then, the
Native Americans taught the colonists to grind the hardened corn between stones. The ground
corn was made into bread, porridge, soup, fried corn cakes, and pudding.
They used all parts of the corn plant. The husks were braided and woven to make masks,
moccasins, sleeping mats, baskets or cornhusk dolls. Corncobs were used for fuel, for game
darts and for ceremonial uses. The Native Americans taught all those uses to the colonists.
Corn was so valuable that the settlers used it instead of money. They traded it with the
natives for food and furs.
This section is just inside the entrance to the barn. There is a display of hand gardening tools
similar to those that would have been used in farming during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th
centuries. Sometimes the interpreters are dressed in colonial costumes of the working class
(depending on who the interpreters are and whether or not they have the appropriate costumes.
THE STRUCTURE OF CORN
“Suggested text for talking points”
As you just learned, corn is a member of the grass family. It is descended from two wild
grasses, teosinte and tripsacum. Like other members of the grass family, corn is a monocot. It
has only one cotyledon or seed leaf.
Corn plants contain both male and female flowers in different locations on the plant. An ear of
corn is actually a female flower stalk, resting between the sheaths of the leaf and stem. The
only part of the female flower that we see when the plant is growing are the fine hairs called
silks. The silks are actually tubes through which pollen will travel when released from the male
flower or tassel that branches at the top of the plant. The corn kernels are fertilized when
the wind or bees carry pollen from the tassels on some corn plants to silks on others. Each
strand of silk that is fertilized develops into a kernel of corn with the characteristics of both
parents.
The scientific name for corn is Zea mays, from the Greek word “zea” for a kind of grain and
the West Indian word “mahis” for corn. It is the most productive grain crop in the world. Corn
is extremely adaptable and widely variable. It is grown successfully on every continent but
Antarctica.
Corn production is measured in bushels, a term that equates to a quantity equal to 56 pounds
of shelled grain (removed from the cob). (The interpreters have 1 bushel, ½ bushel, and 1 peck
baskets to give meaning to “bushel” as a unit of measurement.) A single bushel of corn contains
roughly 73,000 kernels, each of which can produce a plant bearing one or more ears, each of
which in turn can produce roughly 800 new kernels. Every ear consists of an even number of
rows, usually 16 rows, with about 50 kernels in each row. That means every ear of corn contains
approximately 800 kernels! (Tables in front of the interpreters have several ears of corn that
students can pick up to count the rows,, etc.) Each year, United States farmers harvest many
hundreds of trillions of kernels, to be used as food for humans and animals, to produce raw
materials for manufacturing other goods, and for export.
As a crop, corn dominates American agriculture; with production more than double that of any
other crop. Corn is planted on roughly 70-80 million US acres annually, with an annual production
of about 9 billion bushels and a value of approximately 30 billion dollars.
Corn is a kind of seed that has lots of carbohydrates, minerals, and some vitamins, especially
Vitamins A, B, and C. Corn is rich in phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, iron and
selenium. It also has small amounts of potassium. Those elements are vital to the functions of
our bodies. Vitamin A is essential for healthy body tissue and growing bones, and helps our night
vision. Research has shown that consuming one serving a day of a food containing Vitamin A may
help prevent some kinds of cancer. Vitamin B helps to generate new cells, helps our bodies
function properly, and aids in the digestion of carbohydrates. Vitamin C is essential for strong
gums and healthy tissues. Children require 50 milligrams per day of Vitamin C. Fiber is
essential to maintain a healthy digestive tract and to prevent chronic illness in the digestive
system. The high amount of fiber present in corn helps lower cholesterol levels and reduces the
risk of colon cancer. Corn is low in fat, making it a healthy addition to our regular diets. It is a
good vegetable to include as part of a diet that includes a variety of colorful fruits and
vegetables.
In this section there are pots containing corn plants in various stages of development—
sprouts in clear plastic bags, emerging plants with 2 leaves, larger plants showing stalks and
typical corn leaves, and finally a mature corn stalk with all parts labeled (roots to tassels).
Students are allowed to handle the plants so they learn the feel and appearance of the
development of the plant.
USES FOR CORN
“Suggested text for talking points”
The humble kernel of corn finds its way into your life as edible and inedible products,
including food additives, rubber, plastics, fuel, clothing, and literally thousands of other forms.
The livestock industry is the largest user of corn grown in this country. More than half
of the annual corn crop ends up as feed for domestic livestock. Ground corn is fed to chickens,
turkeys, pigs, goats, sheep, horses, and cows. Partially dry corn that is cut—stalk, leaves, and
ears all together—and is chopped finely, is called silage. That is a favorite food of milking cows.
If a farmer picks the ears from the corn and leaves the stalks standing in the field in the fall,
cows like to graze the stalks just the way they graze grass in the summer. (In front of these
interpreters are tables containing boxes of silage, corn kernels, cracked corn, grits, corn meal
and corn flour. The students are encouraged to smell the silage and to feel the differences
between the various presentations of the corn.)
From its original use as a food for man, corn now yields over one hundred by-products to
industry. Corn is an ingredient in more than 3,000 grocery products. Some of the by-products
of corn are dyes, paints, oilcloth, oil for soaps, syrups, starches, glazes, corn gum (used as a
rubber substitute), vegetable substitutes for lard and butter, corn cellulose in press boards and
insulating materials and various chemicals.
Just as Native Americans depended on corn as a major part of their diet, it would be
difficult for any American today to live without corn. Fabrics used to make your clothing are
strengthened by cornstarch. The chickens that laid the eggs you had for breakfast were fed
corn. Many of the soft drinks you enjoy are sweetened with corn syrup.
Your textbooks and the books you check out of the library are bound with cornstarch.
The ink used to print them contains corn oil. Ethanol is made from corn. Corn is also used in
such products as glue, shoe polish, aspirin, ink, marshmallows, ice cream and cosmetics.
Research continues to find new uses for corn. Environmentally friendly products are one
such area. Today, most gasoline that powers our cars contains ethanol. Ethanol usually is made
from corn. Corn as a renewable resource can be beneficial in making products such as ethanol
fuel, ethanol windshield washer fluid, road de-icer, and other degradable products, many of
which are made from cornstarch.
Look at the labels of the products on the tables. Notice that corn, corn syrup, and
cornstarch are contained in all of them. Look at the labels in the packaged foods you use at
home. You’ll be surprised how many of the items you consume every day contain some form of
corn. Corn is a necessary part of lives every single day.
(These tables contain products made from or containing corn products. In the case of
food items, “corn” is underlined in the list of ingredients to call students’ attention to the fact
that most common processed food products contain corn in some form. Small items such as
plastics and/or synthetic rubber products made from corn also are in this display. Students are
encouraged to examine the products.)
Supplies
Materials and supplies are all provided by Elaine Yankey and the Prince William Fairfax County
Farm Bureau Women’s Committee.
Set up
The Barn will be set up with two sides exactly the same. There will be a variety of corn
products and corn available for the students to look at an ask questions. There will also be a
section for the bee keepers. The students will be separated into four groups. Two groups will
go on one side of the barn and two on the other. One group on each side will start with the
bees, and one will start with the corn, and after about 9 minutes they will switch.
Just inside the Barn there is a display of hand gardening tools similar to those that would have
been used in farming during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Sometimes the interpreters
are dressed in colonial costumes of the working class (depending on whom the interpreters are
and whether or not they have the appropriate costumes.
In one section there are pots containing corn plants in various stages of development—sprouts
in clear plastic bags, emerging plants with 2 leaves, larger plants showing stalks and typical corn
leaves, and finally a mature corn stalk with all parts labeled (roots to tassels). Students are
allowed to handle the plants so they learn the feel and appearance of the development of the
plant.
One section of tables contains products made from or containing corn products. In the case
of food items, “corn” is underlined in the list of ingredients to call students’ attention to the
fact that most common processed food products contain corn in some form. Small items such as
plastics and/or synthetic rubber products made from corn also are in this display. Students are
encouraged to examine the products.
Lesson
Using the background information above, explain how corn is produced, and the parts of the
corn stalk.
Instructors will also go over the importance of pollinators in growing crops.