Who knew a vegetable could sweat so much?

It's Not the Heat, It's the Humidity

You know you're from the Midwest if you've ever heard the phrase "It's not the heat, it's the humidity that gets you."   And there's some truth to that.  When it's a dry heat, sure it's hot, but it doesn't feel quite as sticky and "smothering" as high temps coupled with high humidity.   And in the Tri-State we've felt more than our fair sure of oppressively hot and humid days this summer, but why is our area so prone to high humidity?   Well, we can partially thank corn for that.

Corn Sweat?

Let's talk corn sweat.  Like many living things, corn doesn't like this heat too much, so it tries to cool down.  Thus we have corn sweat. But all of this corn together is collectively releasing a LOT of water (or sweat) into the air, which is adding to the humidity.  Science is cool, right? And also a little unnerving.  Imagine telling someone "The air is full of sweat outside."

We've heard about this "heat dome" that we are under from our friend Joe Bird who is a meteorologist for Eyewitness News, and Forbes says that the high temps from this heat dome are being worsened by moisture in the air.

A heat dome is bringing high temperatures to much of the Midwest this week and they’re being worsened by humidity that is, at least in part, caused by moisture being released from crops—or “corn sweat.”

So what is "corn sweat" according to Meteorologist Matt Standridge from WTHR in Indy it's how corn tries to cool down:

The more corn fields you have around you, the hotter and more humid it's going to be this week. 

According to Purdue Univ. corn plants want to stay at a max of 86°F for their optimal growth rate. When it's hotter than that, like this week, the plants use and transpire more water back into the atmosphere to cool off. Humans sweat to cool off. Corn uses a similar method too. We call it "corn sweat".

The hotter it is (this week: 92-97°F), the more water they will use and release.

Meteorologist Matt also put corn sweat to the test, and you can see a neat photo showing just how much "sweat" comes off of corn, here. 

We Grow a LOT of Corn in Indiana, But That's not All!

Indiana is a big agricultural state, with the agriculture industry bringing in roughly $35.1 billion to our state's economy annually.   Drive down any rural road in the state, there's a good chance you'll pass by a cornfield.  But corn isn't the only thing that grows in Indiana (although we grow a LOT Of corn).  According to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana is the number producer of popcorn and gourd production in the country.

Here are a few other national statistics from the ISDA about agriculture in our state:

• No. 1 in commercial duck production, popcorn production, gourd production, hardwood veneer and wood office furniture
• No. 2 in pumpkin production, tomatoes for processing,  and wood kitchen cabinets and countertops
• No. 3 in total egg production, tomatoes, spearmint, turkeys, engineered wood products and cropland planted with a cover crop
• No. 4 in soybeans, peppermint and pre-fabricated wood buildings
• No. 5 in corn, upholstered household furniture and hogs
• No. 6 in watermelon production
• No. 10 in maple syrup and hemp for floral (CBD and other cannabinoid usage)