Field corn facts for kids

Field corn, also known as cow corn, is a type of maize (corn) mostly grown in North America. It's often called cow corn because it's mainly used to feed farm animals like cows. But it's also used to make fuel (ethanol), breakfast cereals, and many other processed foods. Some main types of field corn include dent corn, flint corn, flour corn (also called soft corn), and waxy corn.

Field corn is usually grown until it's fully ripe. Then, the kernels are taken off the cob and stored in large bins or silos. This corn is mostly used for animal feed or to make ethanol. Sometimes, the whole corn plant is chopped up while it's still wet. This chopped plant is called silage, and it's stored for animals to eat later.

Even though it's not as sweet as the corn you eat on the cob, people can pick field corn when it's still a bit sweet. They often cook it on the cob. This is called "roasting ears" because roasting is a common way to prepare it.

What is Field Corn Used For?

Field corn has many important uses, especially on a large scale:

• Animal Feed: It's a major food source for farm animals. This can be the whole cob (for pigs), individual kernels, or the entire plant chopped up into silage.
• Food Products: Many foods we eat come from field corn. These include corn meal, hominy, grits, tortillas, and even cold breakfast cereals like corn flakes.
• Other Processed Foods: Field corn is used to make ingredients like corn starch, corn oil, corn syrup, and high-fructose corn syrup.
• Fuel and Alcohol: It's used to make alcohol and corn whiskey.
• Industrial Products: Parts of corn are used to make things like glues, plastics, gels, and thickeners.

Outside of Latin America, field corn isn't usually eaten by people directly without being processed first. However, in Mexico, people eat a lot of field corn. One exception is "roasting ears," which looks like corn on the cob. It's usually roasted, not boiled, and isn't as tender or sweet as the corn you might be used to. A special type of field corn called Cuzco corn is also commonly eaten in the Andes mountains in South America.

How Corn is Processed in Wet Mills

Field corn is processed into its many different uses in special factories called "wet mills." These mills are different from regular mills because they take apart each corn kernel. They separate the kernel into its different parts to make various products.

For example, the yellow outer skin of the corn kernel is separated from the dark germ, which is like the seed. The yellow skin is often used to make vitamins. The germ is used to produce corn oil. The largest part of the corn kernel is the endosperm. This part has the most uses. Its carbohydrate molecules are broken down to create organic compounds used in many products. These compounds include citric acid, lactic acid, glucose, fructose, and ethanol.

In the United States, two of the biggest companies that process corn are Cargill and ADM.