>>>There was an article in the NY Times the other day about the new demand for ethanol having a big (upward) impact on land values in corn country. This is great news for older farmers, not so good for younger ones starting out who are in some cases being priced out of the market.
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>>>BTW, what is a detasseler? Something to do with cornstalks?
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>>Yup. All seed corn is a hybrid these days. The seed companies pay kids to ride an outrigger and pull the tassels from corn stalks so it can't self-pollinate. It happens over a pretty short time period, so they run 2 shifts/day. I was living in Rantoul, IL when I did it. Like Mike said, it is kind of nasty work, with cuts from the corn leaves, bug bites, hot and dusty. But pretty good money for a kid (at least when I did it).
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>Ride an outrigger? Naw, we are walkers over here.

Must have been short corn. I think I was probably less than 5' tall when I detassled corn.