By Brenda Miller-Sanford, OCPA Computer and Education Coordinator

This year, the Ontario Corn Producers’ Association (OCPA) was invited to provide an Education Centre in the field crops section of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

The OCPA display covered the seasons of growing corn. A planter unit was used to demonstrate how a planter works in the fields by dropping a single seed at a time and evenly spacing the seeds through the fields. Many people found this interesting and also enjoyed viewing the young seedling that showed how the root system and plant develop from a seed, which was still visible. People were able to see corn plants at different stages of growth from the young seedling through to the mature plant. For grade 3 students, plant growth and uses of the plant are part of their school curriculum.

A display tower with a turntable showing types of corn grown in Ontario was very helpful in illustrating the difference between grain corn, sweet corn, white corn, ornamental or indian corn and popping corn. Many people don’t realize there are so many different types of corn.

The harvest area was very popular with all ages. Four antique corn shellers made it possible for OCPA representatives to engage in conversations with people about the differences between grain corn and other types of corn, how a combine works and the many uses of grain corn. Many eyebrows were raised when we spoke of how grain corn was used in items such as toothpaste and sparkplugs. Many people were interested enough to take time to look at the products display.

Overall, we received many positive comments. One teacher stated that she wished she could take the whole display back to her classroom. Many people were heard saying: “I didn’t know that”. Several producers stopped by to express concerns about this year’s crop and depressed prices. A few general consumers also expressed concerns about the situation with farmers, and many comments were made about the display being well done.

One incident stands out as particularly satisfying. A child who viewed the display with his school class returned with a parent later in the week. The child then explained to the parent how the planter unit worked, how the corn plant was developing from a seed, and how the harvest equipment worked. It was gratifying to know that we’d made such a strong impression.

The bookmarks, which are a new addition to OCPA educational materials, were well received. Some teachers asked for enough to take back for class sets.

Anyone who staffed the display came away with very positive feelings. We know we talked to many people, and we expect that at least some of them will always remember shelling corn. We hope they remember that it was grain corn they were working with.

OCPA thanks Pioneer Hi-Bred Ltd., DeKalb and Novartis Seeds for their financial contributions that helped to make this event possible. Donations of popping corn, corn stalks and seed corn to fuel a corn-burning stove, as well as white corn, live plants and a combine poster were received from W. G. Thompson & Sons (Blenheim), Woodrill Farms (Guelph), Liz Lee and Scott Jay of the University of Guelph (Ridgetown), Thys Tollenaar of the University of Guelph and Hendrick Farm Equipment (Wyoming) respectively. Thanks to them as well.

Special thanks to Laverne Wray (Corunna) for the use of the antique corn shellers and Janicek Farm Equipment (Inwood) for the use of the planter unit. They were valuable assets at the show, making our display interactive and hands-on.

Personally, I would like to thank everyone who helped with staffing the display as well the setting up and taking down of the display. With your help, it was a success.

The 2000 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair was Royal fun and learning for all!