Thursday, May 24, 2012
workaround

Donate Now tile

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.




workaround



Triangle Park Creative

Kansas: Goodbye wheat, hello corn

Share
Comment
Email
Print
Reprint rights
By Julia Olmstead, Think Forward
August 25, 2010

Farmers will harvest more corn than wheat this year in Kansas, according to Dan Piller at the Des Moines Register -- and this is a trend that's changing the state's traditional ag identity. Even crop-stressing record heat hasn't put a damper on the maize bonanza.

When I lived in Iowa, I always liked watching the crops change as I drove west. The greens of corn and soybeans would give way to golden wheat (and sunflowers, when I was lucky) as the land got drier. It wasn't real diversity, but at least it was different, a recognition that different land calls for different crops. Drought-resistant transgenes and increased irrigation -- driven by demand for corn -- have changed that. Of course it's not just Kansas; Nebraska and other dry-land regions have also upped their corn production.

Far be it from me to say one monoculture is better than another, but it's yet another sign that we're moving in exactly the wrong direction: toward less diversity, rather than more.

The Twin Cities Daily Planet is an edited news source produced by professional journalists working in collaboration with citizen journalists from the local community. We publish original reported news articles, articles republished from media partners, and some content (Free Speech Zone articles, reader-submitted blog entries, comments) that is moderated but not edited. Click here for a complete description of our editorial policies. Support people-powered non-profit journalism! Volunteer, contribute news, or become a member to keep the Daily Planet in orbit.

Tags:

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <p> <br> <img> <span> <div>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • You may use [google_ad:ad_slot] to display Google Admanager ads within your content.

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
workaround

Blogs published in the Daily Planet come from our blog partners or from individuals who post blogs on the Daily Planet. We moderate, but do not edit, blogs, and publish all those that meet minimal standards. We choose about five blogs per day to feature in the newsletter and on the front page. More on blogs and directions for setting up your own blog here. The opinions expressed in the Free Speech Zone and Neighborhood Notes, as well as the opinions of bloggers, are their own and not necessarily the opinion of the TC Daily Planet.


We're people-powered journalism!  Click on story links (below) to see more story information, and then email editor@tcdailyplanet.net if you want to report.

• May 30: We Are Sabathini exhibit ($25)
• June 1: Museum Magnet closing celebration ($25)
• June 16: World Refugee Day ($25)  
• June 29-July 1: Chalchiutlicue ($25) 
• July 21: Rondo Days ($25)



• Minnesota Idea Open finalist Fatuma Mohamed proposes Hidden Pearls Project to educate Minnesotans about Muslim women. "Hijab is about being seen and heard for who we are, not about our bodies.”
• Making hard decisions: Families face progression of care choices in Alzheimer's disease. Andrea Parrott's series on Alzheimer's in the African-American community continues.
• Chill summer: Claire de Lune, Theresa Andersson, Chicha Libre. Jay Gabler recommends a sexy soundtrack for your next BBQ.
• At RetroRama, the personal is political. Styles with political implications are on stage Thursday night at the Minnesota History Center.

Free Speech Zone

The Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, and announcements. The opinions expressed in the Free Speech Zone and Neighborhood Notes, as well as the opinions of bloggers, are their own and not necessarily the opinion of the TC Daily Planet.
FREE SPEECH ZONE | Michael Cavlan For US Senate 2012 Update
FREE SPEECH ZONE | Will the MPCA "Citizens' Board" side with citizens and the environment?
FREE SPEECH ZONE | Hmong students at Henry High collect 530 postcards to save school buses
FREE SPEECH ZONE | Continental Congress 2.0 This July 4th!
Keith Ellison-Muslim in Congress

Click here to see a display of Twin Cities problem reports, from potholes to neighborhood eyesores. Click here to report a problem. Have you used SeeClickFix? Have you gotten any response from city officials? Let us know - email info@tcdailyplanet.net