Minnesota Ag in the Classroom has the opportunity to partner with many different people and organizations. Do you recall our past blog post written by the University of Minnesota Agricultural Communications and Marketing student? (If not, here it is!) Karson joined Isabelle with assisting on some MN AgMag projects a short while back. Meet this week’s guest blogger, Karson Janssen, as he introduces himself and the super food, corn.
Hello my name is Karson Janssen, and I am a sophomore at the University of Minnesota studying Nutrition. A little bit about me is that I grew up in a very small town in southwest Minnesota surrounded by a variety of agriculture including crop farms, dairy farms, and hog farms. I always knew I wanted to be involved in agriculture for the rest of my life.
Let’s take a deeper look into the healthy vitamins found in the corn grown on the farms in my home area and throughout Minnesota and how the super food, corn benefits both animals and humans.
Field Corn
Field corn is rich in Vitamin B and C. Vitamin B aids in life expectancy for animals. It allows the body to have more energy which increases animals’ daily activity. Field corn is also very high in Vitamin C which is crucial for bone development and strength.
Sweet Corn
According to my plate diagram, adults should eat 2-3 cups of vegetables per day. Sweet corn is at the top of the best vegetables to eat in my opinion, based on the taste and the nutrients your body needs. The same vitamins and nutrients are found in both types of corn; however, sweet corn is edible for humans. The key to telling the difference between field and sweet corn is the appearance. Field corn has the appearance of being hard and that your teeth would break if you tried to bite it. Sweet corn is much softer.
Growing Sweet Corn
The key to having healthy sweet corn is growing it properly. Sweet corn is can be tricky to grow and many people have a tough time with it. The seed needs to be planted one inch in the ground and 8-12 inches apart. For the best crop, the pH of the soil should be 6.0-6. The plant also needs a lot of sunlight mixed with a good amount of rain.
AgMag Connections to Corn
Corn is featured in our AgMag Series in a variety of ways! Super Soybeans and King Corn Corn and Soybeans: Healthy Food Commodities: Corn