Let's Grow Food

Which One Looks Different?

Cattle are pretty amazing because they can eat plants that people and many other animals can’t eat. This is important because not all land can grow food for us. In Kansas, the soil is good for growing grass and grains, but our stomachs can’t break down those plants. Luckily, cattle can! They turn those plants into healthy food, like meat, that we can eat. That’s why people call them nature’s recyclers.

So, what do cattle eat?

It depends on how old they are! Just like we start with milk as babies and eat different foods as we grow, cattle’s food changes too. Eating lots of different plants helps them stay strong and healthy.

Just like people, baby cows, called calves, start their lives drinking milk. As they grow, they start to eat a mix of plants which help them get the nutrients they need to stay healthy. Calves often eat grass from the pastures where they live, and their moms teach them how to nibble on the grass while still drinking milk. After a while, the calves stop drinking milk and eat only plants.

As the calves grow older, they also eat grains grown by Kansas farmers, like corn, sorghum, barley, and oats. Farmers sometimes make special food called ‘feed,’ which is a mix of grains with added vitamins and minerals to keep the calves strong and healthy.

HINT: ear hair

ANSWER: middle row, far left

Match the Seeds to Their Plant

Good luck matching the seeds to the crops grown in Kansas! Farmers grow lots of different plants, like soybeans, corn, sorghum, sunflowers, wheat, and cotton. Did you know that each of these plants start as a tiny seed? But for a seed to grow, or germinate, it needs the right conditions.

What do seeds need to germinate?
Seeds need soil, water, and sun. While the sun helps warm the soil, seeds don’t actually need sunlight to start growing, just heat! For example, corn seeds grow best when the soil is between 50°F and 86°F.

Seeds are pretty amazing! They have a tough seed coat that protects them until the time is just right for them to sprout and start growing. Inside each seed is a tiny baby plant, called an embryo, which already has little leaves, a stem, and roots.

The seed coat keeps the baby plant safe, and there’s even a small food supply inside the seed to feed the plant until it can grow its own roots and leaves.

Can you match the seeds to their adult plant versions? Good Luck!!

KEY:

Circle the Animals Who Eat Corn

We know that farm animals like cows and chickens eat corn as part of their diet. But did you know that your pets at home might eat corn too? That’s right! Many of the foods we give to our hamsters, cats, and dogs have corn in them.

Corn is one of the most common ingredients in pet food.  But it’s not the same corn we eat on the cob or sweet corn. The corn in pet food is called dent corn. It is picked when the kernels are dry. Dent corn, also called field corn, is mostly used to feed animals, but people also use it to make foods like tortilla chips, taco shells, and cornmeal.

Answer: All the animals should be circled; goat, horse, pig, sheet, cat, chicken, dog.

Use the Clues to Find the Numbers

Challenge your students to a fun math puzzle.  If they need a hint, the bushel basket fact listed above the math challenge may help.

Key:

Corn kernel= 5
Ear of corn = 10
Corn Plant= 25
Bushel Basket= 56

From Seed to Food

The journey from seed to food is an exciting one! First, the farmer gets the field ready and plants the seeds. The seeds are usually planted 6 inches apart. A special machine called a planter can plant many rows at the same time, with each row 30 inches apart.

Germination is the first important step in a corn plant’s life. Corn seeds usually start germinating 5 to 10 days after they are planted, and the speed of germination depends on the soil’s temperature and moisture. Soil needs to be between 50°F and 86°F for the corn seed to begin germinating. If the soil is too cold, the seeds might grow slowly or not at all.

After the seed starts to grow roots and a stem, there are many things it needs to become a full corn plant. Water is one of the most important elements, but farmers can’t control when it rains. Some farmers use irrigation, which means they water their corn themselves to help it grow strong. Some farmers rely on nature to water their crops with rain. This is called dryland farming. The time it takes for corn to grow can be different depending on things like the type of corn, the weather, and how the corn is cared for. Corn plants need a certain number of days to grow and make ears of corn. This can take anywhere from 60 to 100 days or more.

Once the corn is fully grown, it’s time to harvest. This is a very busy time for farmers and their families. Everyone helps out to make sure all the corn is picked. It can take several days or even weeks, depending on how many acres the farmer needs to harvest. The farmer uses a big machine called a combine to harvest the corn. The combine takes the ears of corn off the stalk and removes the kernels from the cob. The corn stalks and cobs are pushed out the back of the combine onto the field, and the kernels are collected inside the combine until they are emptied out into a grain cart or truck.

Once corn is harvested, it can be used for many things. It can be turned into feed for cows or sent to a factory to be made into things we use every day, like gummy bears, deodorant, toothpaste, chips, crayons, and even fuel for our cars called ethanol.

Answer: There are two possible scenarios for this puzzle.

Option 1: This is the scenario described above. 4, 5, 6, 2, 3,1

Option 2: It also makes sense for students to start with the kernels, plant the seeds, watch them grow into a full plant, harvest the corn, and then feed it to animals. 5,1,6,3,4,2