CORN: Texas corn farmers: 1. Plant more than 2 2. Yield an average of 105 TEXAS NEIGHBORS | SPRING 2020 GOLDEN KERNELS OF TEXAS Ever wonder the process corn undergoes to make it on your dinner plate or in your gas tank? Each year, Texas farmers plant and harvest millions of acres of corn to do just that and more! million acres annually bushels per acre 3. Averaged more than 285 million bushels annually in the past 5 years Planting and Harvesting Corn Planting corn is a balance of ensuring the soil is warm enough to germinate the seeds, but not so early that the young plants risk being damaged by frost. Depending on geographical location and climate, Texas farm-ers typically begin planting corn as early as January and as late as June. Corn typically takes about 120 days to reach maturity and be harvested. Similar to planting season, harvest season varies by region and depends on weather conditions. Depending on geographical location, farmers typically begin harvesting corn as early as July and as late as November in the state of Texas. Corn Types Field Corn While driving down the highway and passing thousands of acres of corn, chances are you’re seeing field corn! Field, or dent, corn is the most widely grown corn in the U.S. and makes up 99% of corn production. Field corn is harvested after the ear reaches physical maturity. Products such as livestock feed, ethanol, plastics, cornstarch and many more are made with field corn. Sweet Corn Sweet corn is the full-kerneled product that we all love to eat and see on the shelves of our grocery stores. This corn is harvested before it reaches physical maturity to retain the sweet flavor and juice. Out of all corn produced in the U.S., only 1% is made for human consumption. Specialty and White Corn Specialty and white corn are typically grown for specific purposes. White corn contains higher levels of starch, which make it perfect to be used in corn chips, tortillas and other popular food products. Other types of specialty corn include: high-starch corn, high-oil corn, waxy corn, and high-lysine corn—all of which are designed for certain uses. The many uses of corn There are more than 4,200 uses for corn! Corn may be in your crayons, clothes, medicine or even your carpet. One bushel of corn can make 38 boxes of cereal 258 six-packs of soda 33 lbs. of sweetener 2.8 gallons of ethanol 17.5 lbs. of dried distillers grains 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Fireworks Hand soap Carpet Wallpaper Nail polish Cosmetics Bandages Cough syrups Disinfectants Antibiotics 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Medicine Insulation Dusting products Vitamin carriers Ceramics Glue Chalk Paint Linoleum Book binding WWW.TEXASFARMBUREAU.ORG