How American Farmers Harvest and Process Millions of Tons of Sweet Corn
while only four types of corn are cultivated across all 50 US states these varieties yield an astonishing 16 products that are part of our daily lives the US has surpassed China to become the world's top corn producer with 3467 million tons in 2023 this is thanks to their Advanced farming techniques and machine the most familiar type to everyone is probably sweet corn renowned for its high sugar content this imparts a delightful sweetness mechanized harvesting is common with two main types self-propelled or tractor pulled Harvesters Florida Oregon and California are the leading producers of sweet corn collectively harvesting 13.6 tons in 2022 sweet corn is typically harvested when the kernels are still young and tender the Harvester cuts the portion of the stalk containing the ears which is subsequently removed by either a harvesting machine or manually in Florida sweet corn cultivation spans over 37,000 Acres with a harvest season extending from October to June however the exact Harvest timing varies among Farmers due to differing elevation levels across the state this influences planting schedules in some states hand harvesting Remains the preferred method for sweet corn as it allows for more precise selection of marketable ears this harvesting method is often practice in corn farms in Florida California and Georgia field sorting also reduces the need for culling at the packing house ensuring a quicker transition to the cooling process harvested ears can be transported to packing facilities or packed directly in the field the sugars and the tenderness of the kernels will begin to reduce once the corn cobs are off the stock so to preserve quality Farmers rapidly Co harvested sweet corn to approximately 32° F immediately after harvest hydrocooling a method that utilizes water to maintain a cold temperature is commonly employed this ensures the product freshness for up to 2 weeks while sweet corn accounts for only 1% of us corn acreage popcorn reign supreme as a pop popular crop corn use of a popcorn looks skinnier than regular corn characterized by a hard outer shell and a soft moist Center popcorn pops when heated to temperatures between 400 and 460° F the internal moisture transforms into steam causing the inernal to expand in factories freshly popped popcorn is then seasoned to taste popcorn's popularity is undeniable with over 232 million Americans indulging in this snack in 2020 this translates to approximately 14 billion quarts of popcorn popped and consumed annually to meet up with this massive demand popcorn is primarily harvested using combines these powerful Harvesters allow Farmers to harvest corn both during the day and night equipped with a corn head the comine strips the ears from the stalks the ears are then fed into the machine where the kernels is sheld from the cob and the cobs are ejected the sheld kernels are then transported to storage bins where forced air dries them to a moisture level of 14% ideal for popping in some cases popcorn is harvested on the ear up using a corn pickup which removes the ears without shelling the kernels the corn then dries on the cob and the kernels are subsequently removed to ensure efficient popping the kernels are graded to eliminate undersized ones Nebraska was traditionally the top popcorn producing state but Indiana outplanted it with over 97,000 acres in 2021 however popcorn isn't a variety of corn it belongs to the Flint corn or Indian corn family which comes in multiple colors shades of red blue purple yellow and white while sweet corn and Flint corn have their distinct uses what about the corn that forms the foundation of the Mexican delicacy tortillas welcome welcome to Iowa the land of flower corn this state produced 2.3 billion bushels of corn in 2020 about 16.1% of the total us production today the United States is the largest corn producer globally dedicating roughly 96 million acres to Corn cultivation and exporting approximately 38% of the world's total corn exports prior to Milling harvested kernels are typically dried in silos to a moisture content of around 15% these dried kernels undergo a cleaning and Grading process passing through screens and sees to separate them by size and quality subsequently the clean kernels are ground into a fine powder using a series of rollers or Mills the result in ground material is sifted to separate the flow from larger particles and brand finally cornflour is packaged in bags to prevent contamination and maintain freshness at this Korean corn snack Factory cornflour is steamed and pressed into a long thin layer then a machine will cut it into strips which are then fried in this autot turning machine the fried corn strips are then seasoned with syrups and cooled down for packaging corn flour is frequently used as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour so far we've explored corn as a food source but what about the corn that farmers will plant to produce future crops that's where Seed corn or field corn comes in as the most widely cultivated corn type in the US Seed corn occupies approximately 90 million acres and is a familiar site along the American roadways handp Pickers can never come close to these combine Harvesters because they can pass through 10 acres in an hour this equals roughly around 300,000 years per hour the harvested corn is then transported to processing facilities to to prepare for the upcoming planting season one of the most common types of seed corn is Dent corn which gets its name from The Dent or dimple that forms on the top of each kernel when it starts drying out it is primarily used for livestock feed and cornmeal a staple in southern us Cuisine often used when making grits and hush puppies for livestock feed Farmers harvest the entire on plant including stalks leaves and ears this task would take a lot of time if it was done by hand so many US farmers only use huge Harvesters that can shop down 20 rows of corn at a time then they ferment it in silos to create something called cornstalk silage corn Farmers income can also come from corn cob mix together these nutrition ious feeds are valued at $61 a ton and provide essential vitamins and minerals for ruminants like cattle and sheep Seed corn is also processed for corn oil production approximately 2 1/2 to 3 lb of corn kernels are required to produce 1 L of corn oil the refined oil is filtered and packaged for distribution corn oil is an affordable source of healthy fans with high smoke point meaning it can withstand high temperatures without breaking down or producing harmful components besides edible oil seed corn is also used to produce ethanol which is a gasoline additive or as a standalone fuel source this renewable energy source that reduces greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most significant products industrially produced from corn plants for those seeking a unique alcoholic experience corn whiskey commonly known as bourbon or Ry whiskey is a popular option the corn is ground into a mash and fermented to produce a fermented liquid this liquid is then distilled to concentrate the alcohol content the resulting distillate is aged in Oak barrels to impart flavor and color bourbon is is a popular choice for cocktails and enjoyed by many whiskey enthusiasts around the world can you guess what these farmers are going to harvest they've been standing here with long ladders since early morning Bingo it's cherries each person wears a small basket that can hold around 25 lb of cherry after filling the small basket workers go to the collection Point weigh it and pour the cherries into a larger bin each of these bins pays $75 and is often filled up after around 1 hour and 45 minutes of picking while you might see workers picking very fast they all have the technique to pick without breaking the branches or bruising the fruit the pig cherries must still have their stems on to keep them fresh and Farmers must also remove all cherry leaves after filling a large bin the Picker tag will be scanned by the manager to record the number of bins harvested then the picking bins are brought outside the Cherry Farm washed and briefly left to cool down before transporting to the packaging facility Washington is the largest Cherry producing St date in the United States accounting for over 50% of the cherries in the country Some Farms use Cherry shakers to harvest faster the harvesting machine wraps around the trunk and gently shakes the tree in a star shape rather than just shaking back and forth this is so all branches are shaken evenly the cherries fall onto a canvas sheet and are then conveyed into water tanks with a capacity of 1,000 lb of cherries to keep them fresh did you know that August is the month for super sweet cantal opes at the beginning of the Season cantelopes aren't fully ripe yet so farmers go into the fields with bags and carefully pick the sweetest ones at another Farm Farmers Harvest them into small crates on a large truck these early season cantelopes are usually sold at local farmers markets because of their limited quantity and less than perfect sweetness a few weeks later usually in August the main Harvest begins Farms hire more workers and use Machinery to ensure that rip cantelopes are packaged promptly workers use small knives to cut the vines and Peck each cantaloup individually the cantelopes are then tossed into the receiving shoots and bounce onto a conveyor belt which carries them to the harvesting machine Some Farms that sell locally have packaging lines right in the fields Packers sort through the cantaloupes by size and carefully Place each one into a box every cantaloup and box is labeled with a mandatory code for traceability in California the biggest cantaloup producing state will package cantaloupes in a packing facility because they distribute Nationwide planted in early March cantaloup seeds take approximately 90 days to mature multigenerational American cantaloupe Farms such as this 111 year old Farm have refined cultivation and harvesting methods resulting in exceptionally sweet golden cantelopes with nearly double the sugar content of ordinary ones all crates of cantelopes are stored in Cold Storage at a temperature of 36 to 38° F this extends their shelf life to over 3 weeks pumpkins have become one of the most iconic symbols of autumn because early September is the pumpkin harvest season teams of 20 to 30 Farmers work together in the fields inspecting each pumpkin and cutting the stem with large shears pumpkins ready for Harvest are lined up in a straight row getting ready for the main Harvest day pumpkins can ripen and turn orange even after the stem is cut so farmers will harvest them as well they they harvest around 20,000 pumpkins each day each pumpkin can weigh up to 50 lb so these Farmers must have felt like they're going to the gym to increase efficiency many large Farms have started using pumpkin harvesting machines these machines can Harvest four rows of pumpkins at once qualifying pumpkins are stored in a warehouse at temperatures of 80 to 85° f for 10 to 14 days this allows the skin to harden and the cut on the stem to heal after that they are washed thoroughly then they are taken to pumpkin patches for people to buy as Halloween approaches in fact pumpkins can be stored for up to a year the rotten pumpkins left in the field are lined up by a machine then another grinding machine goes through each row to grind the pumpkins into fertilizer and collect the seeds for The Following Season farewell to the orange pumpkin fields say hello to Iowa's golden corn fields for large scale Seed corn production corn is harvested by a machine this harvesting machine can cover 6 acres per hour which is equivalent to about 900 bushel per hour did you know that these corn fields are also home to many wild pigs keeping an eye out for wild pigs damaging the corn field is also one of the important tasks during the Corn Harvest season during the Pig season large farms in the US have several Harvesters running at the same time they integrate cutting husking and Gathering functions significantly increasing efficiency the United States Remains the world's largest corn exporter with major markets including Mexico China and Japan now let's visit the sweet corn fields for small scale sweet corn farms and fresh sweet corn manual harvesting is still a common practice over 120 workers are hired to harvest this 300 acre corn field during Pig season and they are paid around $15 an hour harvesting is done at night if it's too hot during the day Iowa is the state that produces the most corn in the US with 90% of its agricultural land dedicated to cultivating this crop are you a fan of pickles pickling cucumbers are typically harvested 50 to 60 days after planting in the US it takes about 100 workers to efficiently Harvest one acre these workers may need to harvest cucumbers twice a day for 25 to 30 days depending on the variety and growing conditions workers often wear gloves during the manual harvesting process each worker can Harvest about 1 to 1 and 1/2 tons per day on large cucumber Farms such as those in Michigan and Florida Mechanical Harvesters can Harvest up to 3 acres of cucumbers per hour average yields in Open Fields in the us can reach around 3 to 15 Tons per acre these Harvesters can effectively remove leaves and Vines while gently detaching the fruit from the plant Farmers here have to resort to harvesting machines because they produce up to 450 million pounds of cucumbers annually accounting for 63% of the US cucumber production some mechanical Harvesters incorporate sorting mechanisms that can separate cucumbers based on size color and other quality factors they can also return bad cucumbers for decomposing this is what happens in a cabbage field on harvest day as they harvest the workers cut off the an leaves and place the cabbage on a conveyor belt in 2022 the US produced 22 million tons of cabbage and California accounted for 7.1 million but many
big commercial Farms have turned to Modern Harvesters in recent years this is a green cabbage harvesting machine it requires three workers to cut the leaves and arrange them in wooden crates not only do these machines save labor and Manpower but they also have foam pads to protect the Cabbage from bruising and damage this purple cabbage Farm only needs two Harvesters because they use a more modern harvesting machine that cuts the leaves cleaner
2024-09-09 12:34
