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Re: [OM] Tribute to Grant Wood

Subject: Re: [OM] Tribute to Grant Wood
From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:33:12 -0500
>
> Wood depicts the old method of planting in "Young Corn" -- straight up
> and down the hill.  Modern farmers terrace their fields.  Helps
> preserve topsoil.  Prettier fields too.
>


Wood's painting of "Young Corn" also illustrates the old-style planting
methods where the corn is planted in, I believe rows 36" spacing in both
directions. Each corn seed was planted on these 3 foot grid points.  This
way they could run a horse-pulled disc between the plants to whack the weeds
and grasses down going one east-west, then repeat the process going
north-south.  All in the days before herbicides and effective hybrids.

My father-in-law converted from that planting method about 60 years ago. He
kept with the row width most of his farming life, but hybrids and fertilizer
allowed him to plant corn in nice dense rows which precluded being able to
disc across rows the alternate direction.

For many years he was very aggressive in adopting the latest/greatest
farming methods and was extremely quick to adopt the Round Bale becoming one
of the first farmers in southern Iowa to go round.  That, he claims, is the
second biggest advance in farming technology of his lifetime--hybrids being
the top.

One thing he was never comfortable with, was "artificial" fertilizer and
herbicides. If he would have filled out the paperwork, he could have had
over 500 acres certified organic. Alas, the cash renter saw to it that
"organic" certification would never occur.

AG
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