Corn Industrialization: An Experience

Copyright © 2026 by Anahita Riyaz. All rights reserved.

Plink, plunk!
Maizie dropped seeds in a circle—first corn, then beans, and finally squash. That was how it had always been: indigenous and traditional. The Three Sisters farming strategy had existed in her family ever since her Native American great-grandfather first practiced it.

As she was planting the seeds, a pile of dirt suddenly fell on her.

“What in tarnation?!” she exclaimed as she turned around and saw her own cousin, Cornelius, riding a huge machine with its claw hovering right above her. His family also owned a farm, and his dad—her uncle—was her mom’s brother.

“Sorry, cuz, but business is business,” he said, not looking sorry at all. “My father said you need to pay us back for a favor, so if you don’t, this is what’ll happen.”

Maizie was shocked. Her own cousin, from a family of nature worshipers, was now riding a monstrous tractor! Worst of all, it was spewing oil onto the ground where crops were supposed to grow.

That’s no way to respect nature, she thought.

Now that she looked more closely, his farm was filled with at least twenty of those nature depleters.

Trying to stay calm, Maizie climbed out of the dirt pile and asked, “What crops are you planting this time, cuz?”

Sensing her forced calmness, Cornelius replied, “Corn.”

“Again? But you grew that last year too. Shouldn’t you plant some legumes so the nutrients have time to refill?” Maizie asked.

“Yeah… but that’s the played-out strategy.”

Maizie gasped. She had never heard such an illiberal comment toward nature. She quickly backed away and ran into the barn.

“Oh, Mercedes? Are you in here?” Maizie called.

A soft whinny answered her. Maizie followed the sound until she reached her horse and gently stroked Mercedes’s mane.

“Mercedes, isn’t monoculture bad? It can deplete nutrients in the soil and increase crop vulnerability, right? Wouldn’t it be terrible if they had to use too much insecticide, and even a small disease outbreak ruined the whole crop?” Maizie asked.

“Nnneeeeiiiggghh!” Mercedes replied.

“Doesn’t the new farming method weaken the soil?”

“Neigh!”

“Thanks, Mercedes. You really are a good listener,” Maizie said.

She then ran to the chicken coop, where her mom was working.

“Mom, I need to tell you something. My cousin’s farm is ruining their future,” Maizie said.

“How so?” her mom asked.

“Well, you know how monoculture is bad, right?”

“Yes.”

“They’re planting corn again, and they’re using huge machines that leak oil everywhere. I’m worried they’re ruining their soil—and that pests from their weakened crops could spread to ours. Will we ever become like that?” Maizie asked.

Her mom paused, then wrapped her in a hug.

“No. We will never become like that,” she said. “Come on, it’s time for lunch.”

At the table, Maizie’s dad and her two older brothers, Barley and Wheat, joined them.

“I’d like to bring to everyone’s attention that Maizie observed my brother’s farm using monoculture and oil-leaking machines,” her mom said. “Maizie, would you like to explain?”

Maizie nodded and described how monoculture depletes soil, weakens plants, and increases damage from pests and disease.

“I hope we never take that wrong turn,” she finished. “I hope we continue using traditional farming methods, like the Three Sisters.”

“Well,” Maizie’s dad said, “it’s a good thing we’ll never go down that path. I vow not to.”

“I vow not to go down that path!” everyone said together.

The End