How high corn production hides the financial strain of US farms

How high corn production hides the financial strain of US farms

Troy Uphoff has learned to better space the rows of corn on his Illinois farm and grows shorter statured stalks that optimize sunlight and the nutrients in the soil. “That creates about a 5% yield bump every year,” said Uphoff, whose farm sits near Decatur. Uphoff developed these techniques with help from researchers, agricultural businesses and other farmers. Such innovations are the reason, experts told Straight Arrow, that the United States g…