Wallace birthplace farm showcases history of corn varieties

ORIENT - People could see it and eat it, even though it wasn’t exactly the same thing.

The first Henry A. Wallace Field Day held Wednesday at the Henry A. Wallace Country Life Center east of Orient displayed its new historic demonstration corn plot and a sample of Pioneer-branded artifacts from The Wallace Centers of Iowa’s (WCI) collection.

“This has been in the back of our mind for a long time,” said center manager Lisa Swanson about the concept. “We knew this is the year to do it.”

Wallace was born on the farmstead in 1888. In addition to starting Pioneer Hi-Bred seed corn company, he was an editor at Wallaces’ Farmer magazine and served as U.S. Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s second term, Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Commerce. He died of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 1965.

The Wallace Centers of Iowa worked with Corteva Agriscience (commonly known as Pioneer Hi-Bred) to install a 50′ x 100′ corn demonstration plot at the birthplace farm, now on the National Register of Historic Places. The educational and experiential feature the plants during different stages of the growing season and better understand the differences between the hybrid and non-hybrid varieties.

“People can see the legacy of Wallace,” Swanson said.

Corteva and WCI staff selected five varieties of hybrid and non-hybrid corn. The 2021 plot varieties include an open-pollinated sample called Reid’s Yellow Dent, a double cross hybrid first sold in 1936, and a variety that holds the world record of 616 bushels per acre. Accompanying the plot is a large sign explaining how hybridization revolutionized agriculture and the history of Pioneer Hi-Bred’s founding in 1926. Smaller signs explain each variety’s relevance and why it was selected for the demonstration.

Scott Walker, a corn marketing manager for Corteva, said the technology used today in creating corn hybrids makes it able to duplicate what Wallace did about 90 years ago.

“It used to take six or seven years in development,” he said about creating specific hybrids which emphasize a plant’s strengths. “Now it can be done in one or two years.” Corn inbreds are pure lines of identical or nearly identical individuals developed by generations of self-pollination. Hybrids are combining those inbreds to create a new variety of corn.

Noting a drier than usual summer in Iowa this year, Walker said hybrids have helped corn plant development become less dependent upon water for growth.

“Even from the dry year in 2012 we have better varieties today,” he said.

Swanson said the corn plant development was just one of Wallace’s interests as he researched the business and science sides of agriculture.

“He was ahead of his time,” she said about the science. “He was also interested in terraces and erosion. If anybody knew anything about him, it was corn.” Popcorn was offered to those in attendance.

Swanson hopes the event will be annual, even though plans are to have a different emphasis each year.

Corteva is providing three years of in-kind and financial support for this project including planning and planting, seed selection and procurement and educational sign development.

The Wallace Centers of Iowa’s two locations include the Henry A. Wallace Country Life Center in rural Orient and the Wallace House in Des Moines. Together, the two sites provide educational programs and community services, produce sustainably-grown fruits and vegetables and offer locally-sourced meals. More information about the non-profit can be found at www.wallace.org.