We crossed the Mississippi into Illinois and began a long beautiful drive through corn country, all on gently rolling slopes, broken by clusters of trees. The stalks are dry and harvesters are neatly cutting many rows simultaneously, while a thick yellow spray of corn blows from a tube to a truck running parallel. A sign at a roadside rest stop informs us that the ground beneath our feet contains active coal mining, a strange contrast to the farming scene above.
At the Roseville Safeway we see green ears of corn so the harvesting of dry corn is puzzling. Brian later explained that this is called field corn, intended only for animals. Inside the harvester the ears are battered against a turning roller to separate the corn, and the ears and stalks are shredded for mulch and spill out on the ground.
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