Here's a story I always love telling, as it is a snapshot of what has happened during the last 50 years, and a glimpse into the future.
I was a member of the local Future Farmers of America during the late 60's.
One of our projects was to plant test plots of corn to compare various hybrids etc.
With my best efforts, my best plot got 90 bushes per acre.
Many years later, a friend bought the land, and using the typical farming techniques of today, he gets 200 bushels per acre from that same plot of ground.
That kind of yield increase has been repeated from coast to coast, and now corn growers are even passing the 300 bushes per acre mark.
Within a decade, 300 will become common, as the farmers reach for bragging rights to be the first to produce 400 bushels, more than 4 times what I was able to do back in the 60's.
But have you noticed, the increase in yields is also associat6ed with a lowering of oil and protein content. There are no free lunches.