INSIDE THE CORN INDUSTRY by Andrea Pelleschi Content Consultant Ron Heiniger PhD Professor of Crop Science and Cropping Systems Specialist North Carolina State University BUSINESS BIG Essential Library An Imprint of Abdo Publishing abdopublishing com
1 FAMILY FARMS Phillip Haynie II considers it an honor and a privilege to be an American farmer His farm in Reedville Virginia was founded in 1867 when his great-great-grandfather Reverend Robert Haynie bought 60 acres 24 ha of land Since then each generation of the Haynie family has inherited the farm and added to it Today the farm covers thousands of acres and produces corn soybeans wheat and barley Haynie takes care of the business management His wife Gail and their son and daughter are also heavily involved in the operation Phillip Haynie III is particularly proud to be a part of the heritage of his family’s business It’s an honor to ride across the fields in my air-conditioned cab and reflect on the fact that my great-grandfather pulled a plow with a mule across that same ground he says 1 April Hemmes runs her family’s 100-year-old farm in Hampton Iowa largely on her own While her husband works in town Hemmes grows grain and raises approximately 30 cows on 1,000 acres 405 ha Hemmes is a project leader as well as her county’s soil and water commissioner She also helps teach women in Uganda about farming Many farm owners operate farms that have been in their families for generations 5
