Corn is our most important crop. Developed in central Mexico by the Aztecs from two unrelated grasses, the
grain had literally been walked up from central Mexico over several
hundred years and was in the trade of native people all the way into
Canada. Through selection and controlled fertilization, crude genetic engineering,
Indians had managed to produce a plant that producing enough grain to be worth cultivating. What has become
modern corn was discovered in Pennsylvania by European settlers trading
with Indians. That corn remained relatively unchanged until the
early 20th century when scientists experimented with
hybridization. Now several varieties with different characterists
are grown, but the most common, Zea mays L, or field corn matures in 120 days.
Every corn plant needs 200 liters of water
over it's term and each plant produces 5.8 ounces of dried corn.
It will also produce about a 4.4 ounces, dry weight, of leaf and
stalk. These are harvest weights and the in-field growing
weights are about 3.33 times greater.
Corn plants generally grow to a height of eight feet
and grow at a rate of 1.18 inches per day until they approach eight
feet where growing stops. They can be heard stretching at night
if it is very quiet. This noise is rarely audible in the daytime.
Corn is planted on 18 inch centers with 19,996
plants per acre. They will need 8,784,904 pounds of water. In
the middle west normally get 7,022,500 pounds from the 30 inch annual
rainfall with an additional 1,762,404 pounds needed from the
underground water table. In areas where this water is not
available corn will have to be irrigated. This rather substantial
water demand has limited corn farming to middlewestern areas with ample
rain.
Today's prototype one acre of corn produces 130 bushels at
$4.00 per bushel worth $520 at the market, but the farmer gets
less as he is selling to at least one intermediary.
SCAF Makes A Differenece
In
a field served with carbon dioxide we would expect to get 200 bushels
per acre and use half the water. This would mean our crop would
be safe even if rainfall fell to 19 inches of rain. In a normal
year we would be adding over 11 inches of water to the underground
acquifers to restore water tables that have fallen throughout the middle west. Water does not migrate very
swiftly and underground rivers have virtually no detectable flow.
The CO2 supplemented crop will be
worth $800 per acre plus whatever value can be attributed to the water,
but in cash terms the farmer is better off by $320 per acre at full
market price. On the other side we can see the he will need 36
tons of carbon dioxide that someone had to pay $100 per ton to get rid
of so we will assume the farmer will have not had to pay much if anything for it or may be paid to put it in the ground.
We expect the business
arrangements to evolve from experimental where the farmer and CO2
sequestration company cooperate with the farmer standing the capital
cost of the underground system. Before that the
sequestration company may distribute CO2 with sub-soil plows at no cost
to the farmer, but as the system gains popularity and demand exceeds
supply a charge will be made for the service. After several years
it may be attractive to install an underground water and CO2
distribution system still obtaining the gas at no or very little cost.
Eventually, as value is seen and publicized the market will settle
on prices for the gas and services with the price of sequestration
falling as well.
