What's Happening at The Caledon Farmers' Market: September 1 & 8, 2011

Corn, squash and beans were once known as the "Three Sisters" by our native peoples - sisters who should never be apart - sisters who should be planted together. These three plants were important sources of food.
Corn was very important to the survival of the first English colonists in North-eastern America during their first winters. The survival of the early colonists depended on what corn they could beg, borrow or steal from the native peoples plus what they were able to grow under their guidance.
It is believed that corn dates back even further than the inhabitance of native people. Corn's origin is believed to be in the Mexican plateau or the highlands of Guatemala. Fossil pollen grains of corn have been found in drill cores of lake sediment beneath Mexico City. These sediments could be 80,000 years old or more.
Corn belongs to the grass family.
When French explorer Jacques Cartier visited the village of Hochelaga (now Montreal) in 1535, he noted the extensive corn fields growing in all directions. There are records of Samuel de Champlain finding corn growing in the area of Georgian Bay in 1615. Archeological studies have found that corn was grown near Campbellville, Ontario before 1200 AD.
Native groups developed the major classes of corn that we recognize today. The types being sweet, popping, flint, flour and dent corns. Dent corn is a cross between flint and flour corn. Dent corn usually produces higher grain yields and to this day dominates production in North America and much of the rest of the world.
From its original use as a food for man, corn now yields over one hundred by-products to industry, including: dyes, paints, oil for soaps, syrups, starches, corn gum (used as a rubber substitute), vegetable substitutes for lard and butter, cellulose in press boards and insulating materials and various chemicals.
The livestock industry continues to be the largest user of corn grown. In Ontario, approximately 60% of the crop harvested is fed to livestock. Approximately 30% is used for industrial and commercial uses which leaves about 10% for the export market.
Research continue to find new uses for corn. Environmentally friendly products are one such area. Corn as a renewable resource can be beneficial in making products such as ethanol fuel, ethanol windshield washer fluid, CMA (calcium magnesium acetate) road de-icer, and other degradable products made from corn starch.
Corn is as important today to mankind as it was in the beginning to native peoples. According to native legend, corn was of divine origin - "it was the food of the gods that created the earth."