Steve Kenkel check plants a test plot each year. Check planting requires a farmer to plant north to south then east to west, creating a checkerboard pattern in the field.The plot features three centuries of corn. The first section includes Reids Yellow Dent, an open...
Before hybrid corn, farmers planted open pollinated corn by check planting.?Up until the mid to late-70s, farmers would have to take a field marker to mark the field. They would travel north and south to put a line in the dirt. When done, they would travel east and...
In 1856, Shelby County farmers started planting open-pollinated seed corn. Shelby County, located in southwest Iowa, was known for it?s highly fertile soils, which was well suited for corn production. Throughout the years, the county would break production barriers,...
