All About Corn
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Kentucky Corn is Grown for Feed, Food, Fuel, & Fun
There are three types of corn grown in Kentucky: field corn, popcorn, and sweet corn.
Field corn is the most popular type of corn grown by our farmers since it can be used for livestock feed, ground into meal and flour for human food, distilled into alcohol (fuel and beverage), or processed to be used in thousands of products.
Corn was discovered in North America. Early native Americans domesticated the corn plant and eventually shared their seeds and knowledge with European visitors and settlers. Christopher Columbus took corn back with him to Europe in 1492, and we are all aware that corn was an important crop for the Pilgrims in the early 1600s. Corn is now grown world-wide.
It takes a corn plant between 3 and 4 months to grow and mature. Most field corn is planted in the spring and harvested in the early fall. A combine harvests field corn when it is dry enough for storage. Corn is then transported to the markets that need it.
About half of the field corn grown in Kentucky is fed to livestock. Chickens eat the most Kentucky field corn. Kentucky also has several food processing companies that use food-grade corn, many distilleries, and an ethanol plant in Hopkinsville that turns corn into fuel. Corn that is not used in Kentucky is exported to other states or across the world. Any additional corn is stored or fed to on-farm livestock.
Read more about corn
Corn is Amazing Booklet - Ky Corn Growers
Amazing Grains - A Study Guide - Ky Corn Growers
Corn Facts - PDF (Grades 4+)
A Dragonfly’s Tale - Ancient Zuni Legend
Book: Corn by Gail Gibbons
The Latest Facts
Corn production in Kentucky for 2020 was reported at 254 million bushels, the largest crop of corn produced in Kentucky on record. Average yield was estimated at 184 bushels per acre, also a record high. Acres for harvest as grain were estimated at 1.38 million acres.
Sales for 2019 totaled $830 million.
The top counties for corn production in 2020 were:
Union
Christian
Henderson
Graves
Daviess
Source: National Agriculture Statistics Service and Economic Research Commission
