A CORN CHRONOLOGY
History of Grain Corn in Ontario
By S. Lynn Campbell and Sue Bennett
1,000 – Corn was
South, Central and North America. It was a staple food for many native populations and the cultivation of corn
had been developed through individual selection to the point that there were five major classes of corn in existence:
sweet, pop, flint, flour and dent. The natives of Hispanolia called corn “maize” which translates to “stuff of
life”.
1492 – Columbus
reported to the Spanish crown that during his voyage of discovery in the “new” world, he saw a new grain being
used extensively by the natives for making bread.
1525 – A significant
amount of corn was grown in Andalusia, Spain. From there it spread around the Mediterranean along the trade routes,
and eventually to the north where it was known as Turkey wheat or Turkey corn. In Italy it quickly became popular
as the chief cereal for Polenta, a staple of the Italian diet.
1535 – Jacques
Cartier visited the Indian village of Hochelaga (now Montreal) and noted extensive fields in all directions. “Large
fields covered with the corn of the country which resembles Brazil millet and is about as large or larger than
a pea.”
1550 – By the
mid-sixteenth century, corn was introduced into Africa in Portugese-held territories for use as food for slaves.
It soon spread to the entire continent. The great irony that this food was introduced to fuel the slaving ships
should have lead to a general population increase in tropical Africa which ensured that these same ships would
never sail empty of human cargo.
1615 – Champlain
found corn being grown by the Huron Indians, a farming tribe located between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay. Corn
was an important part of the diet of the population of more than 30,000. Cultivated by the women of the tribe,
only the best kernels of the early maturing varieties were selected and saved for seed. Corn was considered a human
food source; none was fed to animals.
1793 – Mrs. Simcoe,
on tour with her husband, Governor John Graves Simcoe, recorded in her diary that “luxuriant crops of Indian corn,
gourds, squash and melons” were being grown.
1815 – British
Parliament enacted the “Corn Laws”. This legislation however, had nothing to do with corn and everything to do
with wheat. Corn, in Britain is a generic term used for grain. Wheat growing and flour-milling however, received
a great boost in Upper Canada under these laws, as our wheat and flour received preferred status in Britain.
1846 – The “Corn
Laws” were repealed, creating an international trading environment similar to that of today’s “Free Trade”. Sir
Robert Peel imported maize to Ireland after the Potato Blight of 1846 and it was derogatorily referred to as Peel’s
Brimstone.
1858 – Canada
Starch Company plant established at Cardinal, Ontario. This plant with numerous updates continues to operate, and
is now known as Casco.
1865 – “I remember
the period when Indian Corn formed the principal crop all through Upper Canada, when it was relied upon as a surer
and more profitable crop than wheat. But since the plough has come to be so universally used, the cultivation of
corn has given place to other cereals.” Canada Farmer, 1865
1880 – The census
reports that 8,096,782 bushels of corn were produced in Ontario, most of it from Norfolk County west to Essex.
Outside of these counties, it was grown almost exclusively as green fodder.
1890 – D.M. Osborne
Co. introduced a corn binder in the U.S.
1906 – Battlecreek, Michigan.
William R. Kellog invented corn flakes as a part of the vegetarian health food
diet at his Seventh Day Adventist sanatorium. With his brother Dr. John Harvey
Kellog’s successful regimen of exercise and healthy eating, the sanatorium gained
popularity as a resort. Corn Flakes were identified with good health through their
relationship with the sanatorium, and when they were conveniently and hygienically
packaged, it did not take much of a promotion and advertising campaign to kick-off
their commercial sale.
1909 – American
Cyanamid, a U.S.-based company began producing fixed atmospheric nitrogen at Niagara Falls, Canada, a first in
North America.
1918 – D.F. Jones,
working with E.M. East at the Connecticut Experimental Station proposed the use of double crosses, building upon
the work of East and G. H. Schull who produced the first single cross hybrids.
1920 – European Corn
Borer was first discovered in Ontario and by the late 1920s it had devastated Ontario crops. The corn acreage dropped
to an all time low of 103,000 acres with an average yield of 35.4 bushels/acre. Some reports indicate losses of
50-100%. The infestation however, helped speed the switch to hybrids.
1923 – The Harrow
Research Station begins breeding and testing hybrids, but the US hybrids prove to be too late maturing.
1924 – In 1924, the very
popular Farmall line of tractors was introduced, allowing farmers to cultivate
40 acres a day by 1930.
1930 – IHC introduced
the first PTO-driven 2-row corn binder. By 1931, they were also marketing the world’s first successful mounted
corn pickers.
1934 – Nap King
established King Grain and Seed at Chatham, Ontario. In 1941 the company developed K300, one of Ontario’s top silage
varieties. By 1950 King Grain became a distributor for Pride. In 1973 King opened the only Canadian-owned corn
milling plant.
1937 – The Ontario
Corn Committee was formed to conduct a testing program across Canada to evaluate U.S. hybrids for Ontario conditions.
All the varieties were open pollinated at this time.
1938 – Using single
cross seed from the University of Wisconsin, Oliver Wilcox of Woodslee, Ontario, a student at the Ontario Agricultural
College, produced the first double cross in Ontario. Acting on the advice of his professor, Dr. McRostie, he plants
the cross on his family farm. James Jubinville, on his farm near Tilbury, plants trials of Pioneer hybrid and became
an associate producer and distributor for Pioneer in Ontario.
1940 – The Ontario
Seed Corn Growers Marketing Board was established.
1944 – The principle
of selective weed control with little or no injury to crops was born. Marth and Mitchell proved that weeds could
be killed with the growth regulator 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). Previously, contact herbicides were
used that caused as much damage to the crop as the weeds.
1945 – 80% of
the corn grown in the province was hybrid.
1946 – Pioneer
Hi-Brid established in Southwestern Ontario when Pioneer purchased the James Jubinville business .
1946 – Harrow,
Ontario. G. F. H. Buckley at Agriculture Canada’s Research Station developed the first double cross hybrid made
up entirely of in-bred lines of Canadian origin. Known as Harvic 300, it was popular in the southern regions of
Canada, Wisconsin and New York State. King Grain produced the seed until 1963.
1948 – The Cockshutt
Company of Brantford Ontario introduced the “30” Tractor. It featured an independent live PTO, which supplied power
to the implement, even when the tractor was not in forward motion, setting the stage for the development of forage
harvesters.
1950 – Organochlorine
(chlorinated hydrocarbon) insecticides were developed and the first time farmers
had effective insecticides. Some of these included DDT, Adrin, Heptachlor and
Chlordane that were highly toxic to insects, but only moderately toxic to humans.
1954 – IHC introduced
the # 141 SP Combine, the first to use a corn head.
1963 – Weed control.
Atrazine, simazine and 2,4-D were the most commonly used herbicides.
1964 – One million
acres of fodder and grain corn were planted in Ontario.
1970 – Southern
Leaf Blight strikes North America.
1971 – The Ontario
Grain Corn Council established.
1973 – Ontario
exported corn for the first time. By 1975 Ontario was a net exporter.
1974 – Canada
goes metric.
1975 – By the
mid-70s, corn rootworm was a major impetus for producers to switch from continuous cropping to crop rotations.
1982 – The Ontario
Corn Producer’s Association (OCPA) was formed.
1984 –
The Corn Marketing Act featured a check-off on commercial grain corn to support
the activities of the OCPA.
1985 – Crop management
took a leap forward with the alliance between Pioneer Hi-Brid and American Cyanamid. Together they developed and
promoted herbicide resistant seed technology. This lead to the development of IR (imidazolinone) resistant corn.
1998 – Ontario
corn producers harvest their largest crop at 238 million bushels.
1999 – 35% of
corn grown in Ontario is Bt; 400 tonnes of food grain corn produced in Ontario.
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