Corn All Year

All winter the cornfield is quiet and empty. In the spring, the snow melts and the days get warmer. Soon it is time for plowing and planting. The farmer starts up the big tractor.

The tractor pulls the plow back and forth across the field. The plow pushes through the soil and breaks up the old, dry corn stalks from last year.

After the plowing, the tractor pulls a machine that breaks up all the clods of mud and dirt. Now the field is soft and smooth for the corn seeds.

The tractor pulls the planter across the field. Seeds drop from the bins, one at a time, in eight straight rows. The planter spreads fertilizer, too, to help the seeds grow. It covers the seeds with soil as it goes.

In a week or so, the first green corn sprouts appear. They soak up the sun and the rain and grow quickly. Sometimes the weeds grow even faster!

Time to hook up the cultivator! The prongs of the cultivator dig into the soil between the rows of young corn and pull up the weeds. Now the corn has room to grow.

By the first week of July, you have to reach up high to touch the tops of the corn stalks. By August, the stalks are even taller than the grownups! Ears of corn are getting ripe on each stalk.

Most corn is grown to feed farm animals. In September, it's ready to harvest. The farmer revs up the biggest machine of all-the combine. The combine picks the ears of corn and pulls the green leafy covering off them. It cuts the corn kernels off the cob. Then it sends the kernels through a chute into the corn wagon and drops the cobs and leaves back onto the field.

The corn kernels are hauled to the silo. Machines carry the golden grain up to the top and drop it inside. There the corn can be kept warm and dry.

When the farmer needs feed for his cattle or other animals, he can get it from the silo. Even though all the cornfields will soon be white with snow again, the farm animals will have corn. They will be well fed all winter.

Copyright Carus Publishing Company Sep 2006
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