It was in the mid-1800s when Robert Reid, the creator of Reid’s Yellow Dent corn, found his new type of corn. Once the seed was created, it quickly became the most popular field corn seed. Reid was from Illinois, but his creation of this variety of corn helped the entire Midwest, including Iowa, where his discovery was made by accident.
When an older version of dent corn called “Gordon Hopkins” was mixed with the native “Little Yellow” corn, the new corn mutation was created. In the 19th century, Yellow Dent corn was considered one of the most productive open pollinated varieties corn. From 1870 through 1900, Reid’s sons helped refine and improve the corn. In 1893, the corn won for Best Agricultural Product at the World’s Fair. At that it, time produced 35 to 45 bushels of corn per acre.
Today, the Yellow Dent corn can be found in small stores that save their own seeds or it can be ordered. Reid’s Yellow Dent has also been used for developing hybrid seed corn. Reid’s discovery has continued to allow producers in the Corn Belt to have access to a strong, successful seed. Therefore, it can be said that Reid’s creation helped feed many people and helped bring to life other new types of seed corn as time has passed.
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