Farmers across the Midwest are reporting record high crops of corn, and it’s wonderful to see corn yields so high. With record crops flooding combines, trailers, grain bins, and local elevators, however, we have to wonder where it will all go. Sadly, last year we witnessed a tragedy, captured in pictures of what happened to surplus corn crops across Minnesota, South Dakota and beyond. Let’s take a look back at one year ago, and hopefully we can find opportunities for our future.
Last winter these pictures of corn piled on the ground were but a glimpse of what was happening across the nation. With storage bins bulging and railroads burning up the tracks to try to haul the massive harvest away, corn was rotting on the ground. Tens of thousands of bushels, enough to heat several thousand homes for the winter had to be cast aside and buried in a landfill because the corn was exposed to the elements and rotted. This overabundance of precious “nature made” fuel for our homes was an 
example of political waste and failure to properly use our natural resources.
Thousands could have heated their homes with corn that was left to rot because there was no market; no place to take it.
It was estimated that just one of these piles of corn had over 25,000 bushels of corn destroyed as a result of this precious fuel being stored outside and exposed to rain. That is enough to heat over 250 homes for an entire winter. There were thousands of these piles of corn across the country exposed to the same fate. Imagine if someone would have had the foresight to sell this corn for heati
ng fuel at a reasonable price and help save our dependence on foreign oil.
As I drove through western Minnesota and through the Dakotas last week, I saw the same gigantic piles of corn forming with the same possibility of rotting. Wouldn’t it be wise for farmers to sell some of this precious fuel to consumers at a reasonable price rather than letting their hard work go to waste?
Thousands could heat their homes with this year’s corn; a corn crop that is going to rot if left to the elements. If you have
questions about how to heat your home with corn or other biomass fuels, you can contact me via our Contact Us page.
We need to support our farmers, local economy, and environment. We need to work together to come up with solutions to keep our families warm, save money, stop our crops from going to waste, and work together toward a brighter future. Would you like to weigh in on this topic? Leave your comment below and let’s start making a difference together!