US Production of Ethanol in millions of gallons

300

200

100

Farm Size in Acreage2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000US Production of corn in millions of bushels

54oF 54oFAverage annual temperature in the Midwest

$1

$2Dollar Price of a Bushel of Corn

2013 AD1950 AD1900 AD1870 AD

1860 Improvement of farming technology

1860 Other crops dominate Midwest 1870

1897 George Washington Carver devises his Crop Rotation

1860 Hybridization of Corn 1870

1842 Broad use of fertilizer (Artificial Manure)

1933 Agricultural Adjustment Administration pays farmers to reduce their land with Agricultural Adjustment Act

1945 Industrialization 1972

1946 Irrigation of the Midwest (Dams / Reservoirs) 1975

2012 Change in Corn Production due to Change in Climate 2013

Dams in the Midwest raise the levels of the Mississippi River downstream

Henry Ford and the Model-T

Wheat and Cotton

1970 New uses for Corn invented 1980

1908 First use of corn-based fuel

1949 Farm sizes double with new technology 1982

1997 Corn Belt Ecoregions designated by EPA

2005 Great Lakes Basin damaged from Mass Production of Corn

2007 Corn Belt produces 50% of US corn

2004 Biotechnical advances in corn200 Bi h i l2004 Biotechnical

2004 Green Plains Renewable Energy

1978 Mass production / use 2004 of trucks for shipping

2012 Predicted massive decline in production

Mass Production of Corn

2007 C B ltB ltrops dominate Midwest 18701860 Other c

1949 Farm sizes double with new technology 1982

d f h lUS Production of Ethanol in ll f ll

1837 John Deere Company Current

1938 Corn Belt Energy Current Electric Company for the Midwest

Pioneer of farming practices and technology

(National Inventors Hall of Fame)

(Corn Belt Energy)

(Fuel Testers)

(Reinhardt)

(Agriculture in the Classroom)

(Princeton University)

(Deere & Company)

(The Climate Corporation)

(Hart)

(Great Lakes Commission)

(EPA)

(US Government)

(US Government)

(US Government)

(US Government)

(Combs)

(Anderson)

(Reinhardt)

(Great Lakes Commission)

(Encyclopedia Britannica)

(Encyclopedia Britannica)

(Hart)

(Thiessen)

(Green Plains)

(Smith)

(Smith)

carvin historical interactions with the corn belt

Natural Inputs and Constituents

Largest US cities

carvin

[20,000,000 bushels]

[10,000,000 bushels]

[1,000,000 bushels]

5+ hardiness

USDA Hardiness Map

USDA Corn Production Map

PPaPaPaPParcrccrcell Specialtty y CoCornn AAArerreeeasasasas

flyways through the Corn Belt reveal the natural zones of predators for Corn

gradient reveals the hardiness zones from North to South, explaining best temperatures for corn growth

map of counties in the Corn Belt and production of corn represented in shades of green

each major river flowing through the Corn Belt to create the Mississippi River Delta Basin

wind map reveals a trend toward carrying airborne pesticides toward the Great Lakes Basin

manufacturing plantNitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus compromise the primary elements of chemically produced fertilizer. These elements are processed at a manufacturing plant to the specifications of the order before being shipped to the farm.

Since corn is a shallow rooted crop, fertilizers are spread across the surface of a cornfield and allowed to penetrate the ground. Through this method, very little of the overall fertilizer is actually absorbed by corn and a majority is subject to runoff.

Majority of elements in fertilizer as well as chemical products are not absorbed and rather enter tributaries, eventually entering nearby bodies of water. Often adverse environmental and human health effects can be linked to this runoff.

Removal of any predators and tertiary predators as a result of pesticide use

Introduction of fertilizer due to bred dependency on artificial nutrients

Attraction of new predators and immunity of old predators

fertilizer unabsorbed by plants to enter water table

Aerial dumping of pesticides over corn fields ensures complete coverage and removal of undesirable species / predators to crops. Also ensures crops themselves can absorb the chemicals.

Result of chemical manipulations to corn fields are a monospecies dependent on human manipulation for proper growth

Primarily petrolium based, the other chemically produced technology used in the production of corn is pesticides. These vary widely in type and compound, and are produced with oil based products at a manufacturing plant before disbursement.

aerial crop dusting

tractor and boom

chemical manipulations of corn as a technology carvin

water table

pesticide induced monoculture

fertilizer-dependent mature corn

cycle of agents and environment

production and use of chemical agents

to watershed

pesticides cover everything to remove undesirable species

potassium

nitrogen

phosphorus

potassium

nitrogen

phosphorus

petrolium

petrolium

janfeb

mar

aprm

ayjun

julaug

sep

oct

nov

dec

ssss

Irrigation practices quickly remove water from site’s groundplane as well as water table to preserve crops. The water carries a majority of the fertilizers and pesticides used in the field with it.

Decreased yeilds result in heavier use of fertilizer, compounding the issue.

Pesticides function in the same fashion through the waterways,

The end result can be random extreme algal blooms in major bodies of water like Lake Erie. These in turn will produce hypoxic zones once the algea dies.Originally single growning seasons ended in August, but farming practices have generated a new wild growing pattern.

(CBC News)

(Biello)

Fertilizers become bound to the path of the pesticides, which provide a clear route to headwaters of major bodies.

Pesticides are washed from above ground surfaces, while fertilizer is irrigated along with water table into tributaries.

out of control human systems due to feedback

spillover disrupts natural ecosystems

wild growing seasons supportnew wilderness

(Schober)

(University of Missouri)

(Union of Concerned Scientists)

(Organic Trade Association)

(Union of Concerned Scientists)

(PAN North America)

the environment beyond: new wilderness carvin