corn

Politics & Government

Meet South Dakota's new corn-bassador, a boy who recently found out that corn is real

5:01am September 08, 2022

by Dustin Jones

Tariq has loved corn ever since he found out it was real. The 7-year-old has been declared South Dakota's Official Corn-bassador after his passion for the vegetable went viral on TikTok and YouTube.

Destroyed tanks and trucks line the farm roads that bisect Mykhailo Liubchenko's plots. The ground fighting has subsided, but there's almost daily shelling in his region near the front lines of the southern campaign of the war.

World News

Ukraine's farmers face Russia's blockade and explosives on their lands this harvest

3:52pm July 03, 2022

by Peter Granitz

Farmers in Ukraine begin to harvest this year's wheat, barley and rapeseed crops as diplomats try to negotiate an end to Russia's Black Sea blockade of exports.

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Glass Gem corn is bred specifically for its beauty.

National

Glass Gem Corn: Poster Child For The Return To Heirloom Seeds

7:46pm November 25, 2019

by Melissa Sevigny

An Oklahoma man exploring his Cherokee roots discovered a forgotten variety of corn and revived it with help of heirloom seed savers. The revived Glass Gem corn now has 19,000 Facebook followers.

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Health & Safety

In Guatemala, A Bad Year For Corn — And For U.S. Aid

12:00pm September 30, 2019

by Alissa Escarce

Last spring, Trump froze almost $500 million in funding to three Central American countries to pressure them to stop the flow of migrants. The impact on farmers could end up increasing migration.

A bowl of creamy cheese grits. Food writer Erin Byers Murray hopes that exploring the story of grits will help spur more discussion about how food shapes our culture, as humble ingredients are elevated into expensive dishes even as we come to terms with l

Saving The Story Of Grits, A Dish Born Of Poverty Now On Fine-Dining Menus

11:28am April 18, 2019

by Kristen Hartke

Interest in grits is rising because of heirloom corn varieties and the backing of master chefs. But the Southern staple has deep roots that wind through economics, race, politics — and nostalgia.

Cherokee Nation Cultural Biologist Feather Smith-Trevino holds an unripe Georgia Candy Roaster Squash at an educational garden in Tahlequah, Okla., where traditional native plants are grown.

National

How A Seed Bank Helps Preserve Cherokee Culture Through Traditional Foods

11:32am April 02, 2019

by Tove Danovich

The seeds are free for any Cherokee, but recipients have been limited because demand is so high. Collecting the seeds has been difficult and emotional, but the program has helped unify the community.

Endophytes are microbes that live inside plants — the ones tagged with a fluorescent dye in this image are found in poplars. The microbes gather nitrogen from the air, turning it into a form plants can use, a process called nitrogen fixation. Researcher

Microbial Magic Could Help Slash Your Dinner's Carbon Footprint

10:00am June 29, 2018

by Hannah Thomasy

In one year, fertilizer production in the U.S. emitted as much carbon dioxide as two million cars. What if we could help plants make their own nitrogen so they wouldn't need man-made chemicals?

Soybean plants, with pods ready for harvest, in Boonsboro, Maryland.

Science

The Soybean Is King, Yet Remains Invisible

4:53pm December 01, 2017

by Dan Charles

For the first time in history, soybeans are about to become America's most widely grown crop. Yet compared to corn or wheat, they remain curiously invisible in American culture.

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Driscoll's, the largest berry producer in the world, now grows about the same quantity of raspberries and strawberries in Mexico as it does in California. Many American producers have recently expanded their production to Mexico.

Why Ditching NAFTA Could Hurt America's Farmers More Than Mexico's

7:12pm February 16, 2017

by Dan Charles

Trade in food between the U.S. and Mexico has exploded over the past 15 years. President Trump is talking about restricting that trade, but when it comes to food, such moves could backfire.

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Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville, Ill. A thriving American Indian city that rose to prominence after A.D. 900 owing to successful maize farming, it may have collapsed because of changing climate.

1,000 Years Ago, Corn Made This Society Big. Then, A Changing Climate Destroyed It

6:08pm February 10, 2017

by Angus Chen

The Mississippian American Indian culture rose to power after A.D. 900 by farming corn. Now, new evidence suggests a dramatic change in climate might have led to the culture's collapse in the 1300s.