Postcards from the Funny Farm

My favorite thing about the Huck Finn Jubilee is the corn booth. If you don’t know of this event, it’s a once-a-year bluegrass music festival up here in Victorville, California. Anyway, they always have roasted corn there. It is this writer’s opinion that every outdoor event should feature roasted corn.

I always go with my dad since it falls on Father’s Day weekend. We watch the bluegrass music, visit the many assorted “Americana” booths, meet a few new people and some performers (when we’re lucky) but the best part of the jubilee is getting that roasted corn and eating it like a typewriter carriage. I usually go through many.

[quote]Corn not only tastes good, but it’s a food of american culture.[/quote] A getting back to basics, a staple, a health infusion. With some margarine on it wrapped in a paper napkin, it gets me motivated and on my way every time. When corn is involved the music is better, the company richer, and the ambiance resplendent. There is no veggie like it that I know of. The Aztecs worshipped a god of corn. It has been the mainstay of the american farmer. There are lots of reasons to like corn. I don’t know specifically why I love corn on the cob so much, I just do. A lot.

Beyond my mysterious fascination, here are some interesting facts about corn (source):

Corn Math

• An ear of corn averages 800 kernels in 16 rows.
• A pound of corn consists of approximately 1,300 kernels.
• 100 bushels of corn produces approximately 7,280,000 kernels.
• Each year, a single U.S. farmer provides food and fiber for 129 people - 97 in the U.S. and 32 overseas.
• In the U.S., corn production measures more than 2 times that of any other crop.
• Over 55% of Iowa’s corn goes to foreign markets. The rest is used in other parts of the United States.

Corn Products

• Your bacon and egg breakfast, glass of milk at lunch, or hamburger for supper were all produced with U.S. corn.
• Corn is a major component in many food items like cereals, peanut butter, snack foods and soft drinks.
• U.S. researchers have led the way in finding many uses for corn - like in vitamins and amino acids.
• Corn is used to produce fuel alcohol. Fuel alcohol makes gasoline burn cleaner, reducing air pollution, and it doesn’t pollute the water.

Corn Geography

• Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota account for over 50 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. Other major corn growing states are Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky.
• The “Corn Belt” includes the states of Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky.
• Corn is produced on every continent of the world with the exception of Antarctica.
• The area known as the “Pacific Rim” region (in Asia) is emerging as the world’s fastest growing market for U.S. corn. There, most of the corn is fed to livestock to produce food for humans. The majority of the world’s population is located in the Pacific Rim region.
• Exports are critical to the well being of American agriculture. Nearly one third of our nation’s corn crop is targeted for exports.

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