When you stop to think about it, farming is nothing short of a miracle. Earlier this month, Jerry Ploehn of the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council pointed this out to a roomful of farmers, lawmakers, reporters, and others in the agriculture community at the Minnesota Agriculture Leadership Conference in Brainerd, MN.

"Look at this," he said, showing the room a single kernel of corn. "Plant it in the ground, and before you know it, you'll end up with this," he continued, holding up a full ear of corn. "One kernel becomes 560 kernels. If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is."

Mr. Ploehn has a good point: it IS pretty amazing. Anybody would jump at the chance to invest a dollar if we knew that it would yield $560 within a matter of months.

Just as amazing is how much our country depends on that miraculous ear of corn. It's a lot more than just a tasty addition to your summer barbeque. In fact, the whole-kernel sweet corn that you enjoy right off the cob represents just one percent of the total corn crop grown in the United States.

To put it another way: if Mr. Ploehn's ear of corn represented the entire crop grown in the United States each year, roughly 239 of those 560 kernels would be used for animal feed, 113 kernels would be converted to ethanol, 95 kernels would be exported, 52 kernels would be used for human consumption and household products, and 56 kernels would be stored as a surplus.

Read on to learn a few things we bet you didn't know about this little yellow economic powerhouse:

It's incredibly versatile: According to the National Corn Growers Association, there are currently more than 4,200 uses for corn—and that number continues to grow. Corn shows up in one form or another in everything from aspirin and cosmetics to stamps and packing tape.
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It's helping to refuel America: Corn-based ethanol is a clean-burning, renewable energy that contributes to America's independence from foreign oil—every barrel of American-made ethanol directly displaces 1.2 barrels of crude oil. Ethanol also benefits consumers, as it decreases the price of gasoline by as much as 40 cents per gallon.
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It's environmentally friendly: Each year, the United States produces between 70 and 80 billion pounds of plastic, mostly from petroleum-based sources, which are non-biodegradable. Plastic made from corn, on the other hand, can be completely biodegradable in controlled compost situations, and scientists are continually finding new ways to use corn to make earthy-friendly products. For example, cornstarch packing peanuts made from corn dissolve completely when they come into contact with water.
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Plus, using ethanol in place of gasoline results in a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 29 percent. Or, to put it another way, last year the production and use of 10.6 billion gallons of ethanol in the United States reduced these emissions by 16.5 million metric tons-the equivalent of taking 2.7 million cars off the road.
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It feeds our nation's livestock: Corn is the most widely produced feed grain in the United States, and livestock feed is the largest market for corn grown in the United States. Corn has long played a role in agricultural economies around the world and was used as feed as far back as the sixteenth century. Because feed made from corn is so economical, livestock producers are able to offer American consumers diets with the protein we need at prices we can afford.

It drives America's economy: The United States is a major player in the world corn trade market, with approximately 20 percent of the corn crop exported to other countries. And last year, U.S. agricultural exports were valued at $53.6 billion, with corn exports reaching 47.7 million metric tons valued at $4.5 billion.
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Meanwhile, ethanol pumps millions of dollars in the U.S. economy each year while reducing our costly dependence on foreign oil. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that for every one billion gallons of ethanol produced, 10,000 to 20,000 jobs will be added to the U.S. economy. In 2008 alone, the ethanol industry created and supported more than 400,000 new American jobs!
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And in addition to all that, ethanol can also help America solve its budget deficit crisis. Our country spends a whopping $300 billion on oil imports each year, and our current trade imbalance is approaching $300 billion with the annual number exceeding $500 billion. Keeping that money inside our borders by relying on homegrown fuel instead of foreign oil will help us reduce the deficit.

To sum it all up, corn-based products are biodegradable, compostable, environmentally friendly, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and come from a renewable resource. But best of all, despite the incredible demand for corn from so many different uses, there is plenty to go around. Thanks to America's hardworking corn farmers, we don't need to worry about running out of this miracle crop.