Farmers Mutual Insurance Association

CORN HUSKING CONTEST WAS A NATIONAL SPORTS SPECTACLE

In the past century, the advancement of corn as a crop is almost mind-boggling.

Ancient Mesoamerican relief of maize, National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico.

Corn was domesticated 9,000 years ago in southern Mexico and the earliest plants had ears that were only an inch long and there was only one ear per plant. In the post-Civil War era in the United States, corn yielded about 26 bushels to the acre and remained at that level for the next 65-70 years. With the introduction and adoption of hybrid varieties in the 1930s, the average yield doubled to 50 bushels an acre by the mid-1950s; doubled again to 100 bushels an acre by 1980; and climbed to an average of 180 bushels an acre today. Paralleling the increase in yields the past 100 years is the ability to harvest the crop. In the 1920s, an average farmer could husk about 300 ears of corn in 80 minutes. In 1935, the national corn husking champion was celebrated for harvesting 41½ bushels in 80 minutes. Today’s combine, in a high yielding field, can harvest more than 7,000 bushels of corn in an hour. That’s a phenomenal increase in productivity in less than a century. The adoption of new farming methods and machinery – including the automated combine – was actually accelerated through the glorification of traditional hand harvesting in the period between the two World Wars. The glorification came in the form of the National Corn

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Husking corn. North Scott Press.

Husking Contest in which farmers from about 10 Midwestern states competed in the years 1924-1941. Promoted at times as “the fastest growing sporting spectacle in the world,” the battles helped buoy the spirits of farmers and small communities in the midst of the Great Depression. Values like individualism, determination, work ethic, and self-sufficiency were highlighted. Starting from 800 attendees in 1924, attendance skyrocketed to more than 100,000 each year from 1935-1941. The corn husking contests existed as part of a larger contest culture which encouraged farmers to improve their farming methods and increase production, according to “The Organized Corn Husking Contests” by Denise Lorraine Dial. A variety of agricultural contests played an integral role in the rural Midwest's absorption of industrial culture by giving farmers the opportunity to experiment with emerging innovations. While the huge crowds at the National Corn Husking Contest gathered to watch a test of masculinity via traditional hand-husking, the event grounds included large displays of machinery to entice farmers with the latest modern equipment from companies such as International Harvester, Allis Chalmers and Firestone Tire. The corn husking contests united the contest culture of production agriculture with a culture of fairs, town celebrations, and harvest festivals.

CONTEST CONCEIVED IN IOWA

The National Corn Husking Contest was the brainchild of Iowa’s Henry A. Wallace, a famous farm advocate, journalist, and founder of Pioneer Hi-Bred. He later was FDR’s secretary of agriculture and second vice president. The first National Corn Husking Contest was held on his farm in Polk County, Iowa, in 1924. In its first decade, the closest sites to northwest Iowa were Fremont, Neb., in 1926; Grundy Center, Iowa, in 1931;

The winner of the 1938 National Corn Husking Contest was Ted Balko of Redwood Falls, Minn. Sioux Falls Argus Leader via newspapers.com, Nov. 4, 1938.

West Point, Neb., in 1933; and Fairmont, Minn., in 1934. Finally, it arrived to the intersection of Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota when Dell Rapids, S.D., was the host in 1938.

Thousands of people arrived at the Jim and Nellie Jensen farm northeast of Dell Rapids on Nov. 3, 1938, a damp, windy and cold day. Officials parked 35,000 cars and estimated the crowd at 125,000. It took five pastures covering 1,300 acres and 800 volunteer traffic directors to handle the parking. There were 48 concession stands housed under a tent stretching four city blocks. Tents were needed for the numerous exhibitions, the temporary fire department, post office, food stands, and the emergency hospital and its corps of physicians. Ten to 12 wells were sunk to provide the necessary water supply.