This is Bancroft. It’s a small Iowa town composed of a grocery
store, a bank, a liquor store, hardware store, office supply store, flower shop, hair salon,
medical clinic, bed and breakfast, funeral home, trailer manufacturer, whisky distillery,
gym, baseball field, city pool, 9-hole golf course, two gas stations, two restaurants,
two feed suppliers, two car dealerships, 346 homes, 699 people, and that’s about it. Bancroft more-or-less nestles into a single,
one-by-one mile square, and it’s surrounded by eight other one-by-one mile squares—fields
full of corn and soybean. Six squares down, there’s another town—Burt. Six to the west, it’s Lone Rock, then six
more and there’s Fenton. This consistent human distribution is reflective
of these towns’ common cause. They’re farm towns—their economy is the
fields that envelop them, it’s the crops they grow, and so their spacing is dictated
by the amount of people that these fields that separate them can reasonably provide
for financially. 974 of these squares combined represent Kossuth
County. Of those, a full 355 are dedicated to the
cultivation of soybean, while even more, 475, are used to grow corn. Therefore, this county, as large as the country
of Luxembourg, uses some 85% of its area for the singular purpose of growing these two
crops. The reason why is because Kossuth County,
and its neighbors, are powerhouses in the world of agriculture–crucial food-production
resources not only for Iowa, not only for the United States, not only even just for
North America, but for the entire world. For a farmer living and working, say, here,
a four mile drive outside of Bancroft on an average-sized farm, the process of feeding
the globe, supporting the American economy, powering the local community, and providing
for their own family starts anew every spring, when they sit down at the kitchen table, flip
to April in their calendar, and decide exactly when, and exactly what they’re going to
plant. Now, of the 23,195,000 acres planted in Iowa
in 2021, 23,000,000 acres were filled with soybean or corn. It’s a safe bet, in other words, that, come
April, this farmer will be planting one of these two major cash crops. Deciding what to plant, however, is not simply
an either/or proposition. Considering that all this land has been planted
with corn in years prior, and that events in other corn producing regions of the world
has this farmer feeling bullish on its immediate prospects, it’s likely that they’ll pass
on soybean and go with corn. But that’s only the start: now the farmer
has hundreds of viable seed hybrids to choose from. Selective breeding over millennia and genetic
modification in recent decades, afterall, are what transformed corn from this, to this–a
crop packing enough energy to power combustion engines and America’s meat industry alike. They’re also what have allowed per-acre
corn production to skyrocket over the past century, as breeding for increased yield,
disease resistance, and drought tolerance have pushed bushel per acre yields to levels
pre-war Americans could never have even imagined. For this average Iowa farmer on this average
Iowa farm, though, it’s not the past that matters, but the future—and to ensure they’re
making the most of the growing season, they need to nail their seed selection. Ninety-nine percent of corn grown in Iowa
isn’t the type you eat fresh off the cob–it’s field corn, or the type that goes on to make
ethanol in other parts of Iowa, or feed livestock in Wyoming, or sweeten drinks in Georgia. And still, the options are endless when it
comes to field corn seeds–some hold up better in dry years, others in wet years; some produce
stronger stalks, others produce larger ears; some fare better when planted in untilled
soils, others require only minimal fertilizer. Ultimately though, informing which seed a
farmer chooses largely comes down to one all-important metric–average yield: the number of bushels
each acre can produce. So, to figure out what will make the farmer
the most bushels, and therefore the most money, they start here, with the Iowa Crop Improvement
Association’s corn performance test. Now, considering Bancroft’s less than 30
miles or 50 kilometers from the test site in Corwith, that the towns sit in the same
ICIA north district, and that they both occupy the same soil region made up of “loamy Wisconsin
glacial till,” it stands to reason that what works in one spot will work in the other. Grabbing the farmer’s eyes first then, are
likely these Legacy and Dekalb seeds, which in 2021—a record-setting year for statewide
yields—performed well above the state average of 205 bushels per acre. Yield is the most important metric, but it’s
not the only factor influencing our farmer’s choice–the corn’s use, the seed’s price,
the farmer’s past experiences, and brand loyalty all inform that final decision. Given that Dekalb’s hybrid performed so
well in an environment so similar to Bancroft’s, and given that Arndorfer Bros Seed, conveniently
located right here in Bancroft, just so happens to sell Dekalb seeds, all things being equal,
it makes sense that this farmer bought the Dekalb 52-99RIB, or something like it. Or perhaps not, perhaps the farmer considered
the weather outlook for the coming year and went a different route. You see, while billions of dollars a year
are invested in the creation of these hybrid seeds, and, in turn, billions a year are brought
in by the crops these seeds produce, critical junctures of the process revolve entirely
around the farmers’ informed and fine-tuned intuition. 2022, for example, is a La Niña year–a
year where the winter’s been cold and damp, and a year where cold snaps, above average
moisture, and extreme weather events are bound to continue through spring and summer. Perhaps then, our farmer, considering the
higher likelihood of above-average rainfall and potential flooding, went with a hybrid
seed better suited for damp conditions. Such weather not only informs what is planted,
but when it’s planted, too. Using Iowa State extension estimations, and
assuming our farmer is aiming for maximum yield on their land, seeds for 395 acres will
cost $49,000, while running planting machinery another $4,500. If the farmer plants too early and loses the
crop to a late frost they’re effectively out $55,000. Seeds selected, weather considered, and risk
accounted for, sometime during the last week of April and the first of May our farmer attaches
their 16-row planter onto a tractor, sets the attachment’s row width and seed depth,
fills the fertilizer hopper, and sets out onto the field. For a few days, machinery that’s valued
in the mid six figures will get its only use of the year. In the coming weeks, as spring gives way to
summer, the corn stalks will begin to bolt skyward, and the work will continue.
A poor planting strategy can ruin a farmer's
season, but that doesn’t mean a perfect strategy will result in maximum yield, either. Throughout the growing season–from the end
of spring to the beginning of fall–much can go wrong, and much hangs on the farmer’s
ability to adapt. While no farmer, Iowan or otherwise, can control
the weather, generations of agricultural Americans have done their best to exert at least some
agency over the environment–in Iowa, the most obvious sign of this pursuit is the ever-present
but easy-to-overlook drainage ditch. While humble in form, these cuts into the
countryside are critical, and our farmer just northwest of Bancroft knows it. Take Mud Creek, for example. For Bancroft golfers on hole two, it’s a
likely landing spot for an errant drive. For travelers leaving Bancroft on highway
169, it offers a brief change of scenery. For our farmer though, Mud Creek serves as
insurance. You see, while the Western US cut ditches
and built dams to grow crops in the desert, Iowans cut ditches to grow crops in wetlands. In Iowa it’s not the lack of rain that makes
farming hard, but its abundance. For our farmer, Mud Creek is the lowest point
on the property, and while it may cut slightly into their acreage, the creek, along with
subterranean tiles and pipes, drain excess rainfall from the field and insulates the
property from crop-killing stagnant water. Without proper drainage, in a worst case scenario,
sprouting seeds drown, topsoil runs off, and mud keeps the farmer from even inspecting
the damage. In the best case scenario, without drainage
tiles running below their field, a farmer’s yields will be hampered when the first rainstorm
washes away the crop’s fertilizer and along with it, the farmer’s yield. Beyond keeping excess water away from the
growing crop, the farmer must also make sure that the plant has easy access to needed nutrients
to ensure quality yields. Beginning when planted with a starter fertilizer,
then reapplied throughout the summer depending on the seed and soil conditions, a mix of
nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are applied to maximize the plant’s growth. In such ideal growing conditions though, corn
stalks aren’t the only thing growing on the farmer’s field. Along with proactively applying nutrients
as the crop matures, the farmer also monitors the arrival and spread of weeds and pests. Neither fertilizers nor pesticides are cheap. According to Iowa State’s estimated costs,
at a per acre rate, nitrogen is more expensive than the seeds it supports, while applying
pesticides requires additional machine hours or employing a pilot to spread the product
from above. And yet, the farmer wouldn’t dare cut corners
at this stage—as these products are some of modern science’s most successful forays
into standardizing, overriding, and protecting against nature’s inherent chaos. And so, our farmer further extends themself
financially as the corn stalks extend themselves vertically.
With the summer behind it and fall weather
setting in, it’s finally time for our farm, and all the farms of Iowa, to begin capitalizing
on all their work. But exactly when this happens is not down
to the farmers, it’s down to the weather. This massive industry collectively waits in
the wings for the world to deliver a long enough stretch of dry days to allow the harvest
to begin. And this doesn’t always come easy. In 2018, for example, Kossuth County received
more than double its average precipitation at the start of fall which made it difficult
to get the crop to its necessary level of dryness, and impossible to get large farm
equipment into the fields without getting stuck in the mud. This slowed down the harvest considerably
and the county saw its worst corn yields since 2014. Even a day of weather months before can sway
the success of the harvest. In 2020, Iowa suffered an extremely severe
August derecho storm. The high winds it brought damaged the crop,
pushing stalks of corn into a severe lean. This leaning crop condition, referred to as
lodged corn, makes it difficult for combine harvesters to capture and process all of the
plant, leading to lower yields. Therefore, immediately after the storm, local
and regional agriculture organizations started publishing information on how to adapt standard
operating procedures to this widespread damage. Many farmers took their advice to buy a special
attachment for their combine heads which helps prop up lodged corn. Iowa State’s Integrated Crop Management
Program also recommended harvesting from the direction to which the crop is leaning, lowering
the combine head more than typical, and operating at a lower speed. They even added a suggestion that farmers
call a dedicated, 24/7 stress hotline if needed—acknowledging the degree of mental and emotional impact
a less-than-stellar harvest can have on farmers. Given the tiny margins in the farming industry,
the difference between an upright and leaning crop can mean the difference between a profitable
and unprofitable year given its impact on yields. But regardless of field conditions, the combine
harvester’s job is the same—it's to take in the crop and process it down into the grain
by itself. Now, the combine harvester is an incredibly
influential piece of machinery. It is single-handedly responsible for much
of the progress made in food supply and cost over the past century. What was once an exceedingly manual process,
involving a huge swath of laborers picking and processing the crop primarily by hand,
now occurs in a matter of seconds with a single human operator. The combine’s head orients to a certain
height above the ground using a sensor, and the entire machine auto-steers using another
sensor that follows the line of corn. Meanwhile, the snouts feed the crop to a pair
of downward spinning rollers that pull the plant through a narrow gap where the ears
of corn, given their wider shape, get caught and pulled inwards by gathering chains. Then, the ears are pulled in further by augers
to the feed house, and fed through a cylinder that throws the plant back into a series of
mechanical processes that separate the grain from the chuff—the unusable part—and by
the end a series of augers and paddles pull the corn kernels themselves up into the combine’s
tank. As the combine harvests, a tractor with a
grain cart pulls alongside it and the combine lets out its arm and delivers grain into the
cart. Once full, the tractor drives away, while
the combine continues harvesting, and heads to a waiting semi-truck pulling a far larger
grain trailer, in which it deposits its load. This process repeats itself until the trailer
is full, at which point the semi drives the couple miles into Bancroft. Now, a common landmark across nearly all of
Iowa’s small farming towns is each community’s grain elevator. These are absolutely critical pieces of infrastructure
for the region’s economy. Bancroft’s, indicatively, is operated by
the regional farmers coop, State-Line Cooperative. Upon arrival, a probe is placed into the grain
trailer to take a sample of the corn. That sample is inspected and tested for its
moisture content—it has to be below 15% to assure mold won’t grow during storage,
which is especially important since it’ll be mixed in with other farmers’ crop. Simultaneously, the truck is weighed to determine
how much corn is being delivered. Then, it pulls forward and a door beneath
the trailer opens to pour the grain through a grate below. Finally, a bucket belt carries the grain to
the very top of the elevator where it gets deposited into the storage bin. Now, the farmers have two primary choices
for what happens next. They could sell their crop immediately to
the coop, in which case they get paid based on corn’s current market rate. However, during the harvest season, market
rates for the crop often dip as it gets flooded with supply, especially recently given a widespread
shortage of grain storage capacity. Therefore, if farmers can store the corn,
they often do. Bancroft’s grain elevator charges 5 cents
per month per bushel for the first three months, then 4 cents per bushel per month after that,
but this cost is typically well worth it. During 2021’s harvest season, for example,
market prices were about $5.50 per bushel, but by Spring 2022 they were up to $7.50. This grain market is a global one, and so
ebbs and flows in supply and demand around the world influence how many trucks roll through
Bancroft’s streets to pick up a load from their grain elevator on a given day. Once that day does come, though, if it's not
going to a nearby processing facility to be turned into livestock feed or ethanol, chances
are good that a truck in Bancroft is starting a trip three-hours east to La Crosse, Wisconsin. There, it unloads at a small grain elevator
on the banks of the Mississippi River run by Cargill—one of the largest companies
in the world which, among other food-related functions, holds about 25% of the US’ grain
export market. Once enough product is aggregated, it’s
loaded into a series of barges which are then lashed together and propelled forward by a
tug boat. The tug orients the barges south and then
begins a massive, 15-day journey through 19 locks and 1,500 miles or 2,400 kilometers
of river. This transportation method is propped up by
the fact that grain is not a very time-sensitive product—in its dry form it's hardly perishable
and given the huge quantities shipped simultaneously, few ever have a pressing need for it. Therefore, this exceptionally slow system
of barge transport works fine, and it's certainly the most competitive in terms of cost. Shipping a ton of grain all the way from St
Louis to New Orleans typically costs less than $20 on a Mississippi River barge—far
less than by truck or rail. In fact, a major reason why America’s corn
belt is such a competitive agricultural region is its access to this low-cost means of transportation
via the Mississippi River. Other growing areas of the world, confined
to high-cost truck or rail transport, just can’t compete against America’s industry. The destination for all these barges is New
Orleans. Its prominence as a city has always been and
still is linked to its position at the end of America’s most important navigable river. There, the barge from La Crosse arrives at
Cargill’s massive New Orleans facility, where the grain enters yet another elevator. Aggregated with the annual output of countless
other farms, the corn is next loaded onto a large, ocean-going bulk-carrier ship. And then finally, the bulk-carrier navigates
through the final twists and turns of the Mississippi River, enters the Gulf of Mexico,
and begins a weeks-long journey to wherever the corn market’s demand dictates. One reason I was excited to cover this topic
is because I knew I could get all sorts of specular footage of the corn-fields of Iowa
from our stock-footage provider, Storyblocks. Quite literally since the very-first Wendover
video they’ve been the first place we go to find footage which is why I’m so excited
that they’re now sponsoring us. As you might know, most stock footage providers
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creator comes along they charge them hundreds of dollars per clip. Storyblocks, however, is made from the ground-up
to be the provider for creators. They offer an unlimited subscription so that
you can download and use as much as you need for an annual price lower than what other
providers charge for a clip. Beyond an unlimited subscription, Storyblocks
also offers an entirely royalty-free library, meaning you can use anything from the library
for any commercial or personal use. The library is also demand-driven, making
it so that what’s added–4k video, or After Effects and Premiere Pro templates–is of
the most use to you, the creator. And storyblocks offers more than just footage
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one, I can tell you from my more than five years of experience as their customer that
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full-time creator that doesn't have a subscription to them. So, click the button on screen or head to
storyblocks.com/wendover to sign up, and you’ll be supporting the channel while you’re at
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