Corn Crop Jewelry Boosts Farm's Bottom Line

Corn Crop Jewelry Boosts Farm's Bottom Line FARM HOME Clothes 27-2-31 Artist and farmer Heidi Scott, Dunnell, Minnesota, has come up with a way to make her corn more than just a commodity. Scott says a recent bad growing year and low prices inspired her to try to get more value out of their corn crop by turning it into jewelry. "I took some some kernels and used them to make a pair of earrings. I wore them out and a friend who saw them wanted a pair. Her daughter works for a newspaper and wrote a story about them and I began to get orders," she recalls. She started making necklaces and bracelets, too. Then she took the idea one step further and used kernels to make a mold for casting kernels in gold, silver, brass and bronze. It wasn't long before her corn jewelry was adding a significant amount to the total farm income. She's sold corn jewelry to people from all over the world. Recently she started making corn costumes out of open-pollinated native corn. "I grow some of it. People give some to me, and I get some from a farmer who grows primarily for the Corn Palace at Mitchell, South Dakota," she notes. "I plant a variety called Spotted Eagle. It has white kernels with a black shape that looks like an eagle on them." Scott's approach to corn, and farming in general, is that it needs to be about more than just money. "Ever since I was a little girl, I've been fascinated with corn," she notes. "I loved to ride my horse through the fields. I liked the smell and feel of the plants." She believes using corn in this way helps reconnect people spiritually with the crops they produce. You can see more of her jewelry and costumes on the Internet or you can order it by calling Scott. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Heidi Scott, Corn Woman Production'z, 437 40th Avenue, Dunnell, Minn. 56127 (ph 507 695-2941; E-mail: cornw@bevcom.net; Website: www.cornwoman.com).

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