How many farms? 
In Iowa, 52,806 farms produce corn, according to the 2002 Census of Agriculture.  In 2002, the average Iowa farm had 222 acres of corn and 214 acres of soybeans.  Almost all Iowa grain farms are owned by individual farmers or farm families.

Farm expenses and income: 
Iowa farmers spent $113,664 on average for farm production expenses in 2007.  Average net cash income per farm was $31,592, according to the Iowa Agricultural Statistics Service.  

Corn and the Iowa economy: 
USDA estimates the farm gate price for the 2007-08 at $4.25 to $4.45 per bushel of corn.  On average, that would mean Iowa’s 2007 corn crop was worth $10.4 billion. 

Corn exports: 
The U.S. exported to corn to 59 nations in the 2007-08 crop year that ended Aug. 31.  The top purchasers were Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Egypt, Colombia, Canada, Israel, Syria, and Algeria.

Corn’s origins:
Corn is descended from teosinte, a Mexican grass. The earliest known ears were only a few inches long. Centuries of breeding by Native Americans, early settlers and modern scientists have made corn one of the world’s three leading grain crops.

How many plants?
In 2007, Iowa farms produced an average of 29,100 corn plants per acre, and Iowa farmers harvested an average of 28,400 ears per acre.

Biotechnology adoption:
In 2008, 84% of Iowa’s corn crop was planted with biotech hybrids (15% herbicide resistant, 15% insect resistant, 53% stacked genes).

Handy conversion factors:
A metric ton of corn = 39.4 bushels
One hectare - 2.471 acres
One acre is about the size of a football field
One bushel of shelled corn = 56 pounds
One bushel will produce 2.7 gallons of ethanol plus 18 pounds of feed (distillers grains).
One large semi hauls 910 bushels of corn.  One jumbo hopper car hauls 3,500 bushels.  One barge hauls 52,500 bushels.