Frequently Asked Questions of The Farmer’s Life
English: Maize/Corn field in South Dakota, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What crops do you raise?
We raise corn, soybeans, popcorn, and wheat. More specifically we grow dent corn, waxy corn, commercial soybeans, soybeans for seed, popcorn, and winter wheat.
What is waxy corn?
Inevitably when I mention waxy corn I get asked, “What is waxy corn?” Waxy has a different starch content than normal field corn. All of our waxy is sold to Tate & Lyle and “is used primarily for creating stabilisers, thickeners and emulsifiers for the food industry.” Growing waxy also nets us a premium price over dent corn.
Where does your harvest go?
Many people are interested in what happens to our grain after we harvest. Much of it is stored on our farm following harvest except for popcorn and wheat. Throughout the year we deliver grain to various places. You can see them all in “Where Does My Harvest Go?”
Is all your land in one location?
This is the one question I get asked the most by those who don’t farm themselves. The answer is no. Not all of our acres are in adjacent plots. This is normal to me, but I can see why people not familiar with agriculture would ask. All farms are different, but we farm in two Indiana counties with fields spread out over about 16 miles as the crow flies from North to South.
Do you employ biotechnology on your farm?
Biotech, often referred to as GMO, is a tool we use on our farm. Not all of our acres are dedicated to biotech crops. One reason being that there are no commercially available GMO varieties of popcorn or wheat at this time. When I say GMO I’m talking about putting traits into crops by methods other than traditional breeding. The traits include qualities such as resistance to certain herbicides and built in defenses against insect pests. These technologies reduce our need for over the top applications of pesticides. In fact, we rarely need to call on a sprayer loaded with fuel and water to treat insect pests.
Any more questions? If so please feel free to leave a comment on this page or fill out the form below if you’d like to shoot me an email. Thanks for asking!
