Topsoil Sources

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1	Link	Notes
2	2024/2025 Corn Harvest Quality Report	Great resource; Annual survey from US Grains Council on chemical composition of harvested crop
3	UNITED STATES SOYBEAN QUALITY	Great resource; testing from UMN supported by USB on soybean composition of annual crop nationally for US Soybean protein/oil/carb varies by region (p. 21) For 2024 crop: oil 19.9% ; protein 34%
4	World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates	May WASDE: Soybeans planted acres: 83.5 MM acres; corn planted acres 95.3 MM acres 4,340 million bushels of soybeans and 15,820 million bushels of corn; Wheat planted acres 46.1 MM acres; 1,971 million bushels of corn
5	Genetic regulatory networks of soybean seed size, oil and protein contents
6	The Corn Refining Process	"The corn wet milling process separates corn into its four basic components: starch, germ, fiber, and protein. The next step in the process involves a coarse grind to separate the germ from the rest of the kernel. The remaining slurry consisting of fiber, starch, and protein is finely ground and screened to separate the fiber from the starch and protein. Approximately 70 percent of the kernel is starch (from the endosperm), about 10 percent is protein (predominantly gluten), four percent is oil (extracted from the germ), and two percent is fiber (from the hull)."
7	Genetic regulatory networks of soybean seed size, oil and protein contents	Graphic with protein composition "Increasing seed size is one of the crucial ways to boost soybean yield." "Cultivated soybeans generally produce larger seeds with a higher oil level (Wang et al., 2020b). Wild soybeans have smaller seeds with lower oil content than cultivated soybeans. However, the seed protein content is not increased in the large-seed soybean cultivar" "For decades, increasing seed size, oil accumulation, and protein content have been the essential objectives of soybean breeding programs."
8	Soybean Composition - NOPA	Soybean composition image from Soy Checkoff
9	Components of a wheat kernel with variability reported in the...	Composition of a wheat kernel (graphic)
10	Understanding Wheat Starch Metabolism in Properties, Environmental Stress Condition, and Molecular Approaches for Value-Added Utilization	Composition of a wheat kernel
11	Pork-Infused Soybeans and Beef-Infused Peas - Ambrook Research	plant molecular farming (Moolec)
12	What accounts for variability in grain protein levels in corn? \| Agronomic Crops Network	Table with protein 7-10% at 15.5% moisture; "Production factors and favorable growing conditions that increase grain yield usually increase the starch concentration of grain while reducing the grain protein concentration (except when yield increases as a result of N fertilizer application)." "The hybrids we plant today require high populations to optimize yields and this has has resulted in grain with a higher starch content and lower protein content."
13	https://nebraskacorn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/unit9_TeachersKey.pdf	1999 source of corn composition: Starch 61.0%; Feed 19.2%; Oil 3.8%; Moisture 16%
14	Leveling the Playing Field for U.S. Corn	"The proposed reduction on the dependence on foreign oil together with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 led to the selection of corn hybrids that yield more starch and oil." "Modern U.S. corn differs and contains 8-9 percent protein, 73 percent starch, and almost 4 percent oil" "As stated above, modern U.S. corn averages less than 9 percent protein, almost 73 percent starch and close to 4 percent oil. This has been the result of decades of selection for corn with higher content of energy yielding nutrients. Aside from strictly the nutrient content there is an urgent need to also assess what proportion of those nutrients (particularly starch) are turned into energy by livestock."
15	Chemical composition and nutritional value of maize
16	6.3a Composition of Corn and Yield of Ethanol from Corn \| EGEE 439: Alternative Fuels from Biomass Sources	Diagram on corn grain structure/anatomy Also includes a nice diagram on how corn is processed in wet milling and dry milling "To summarize, corn has 62% starch, 19% protein, 4% oil, and 15% water. If you look at the products on a dry basis (you don’t look at the water like a product), 73% of the corn is starch and 27% is protein, fiber, and oil."
17	Cereal processing - Wheat Varieties, Characteristics \| Britannica
18	Spatial Variation of Protein, Oil, and Starch in Corn	"Similarly, variations might also be found among the highly valued chemical components (oil, protein, and starch) in corn kernels due to local differences in soil type, fertility, acidity/pH, organic matter, etc." "Pendleton and Dungan (1960) reported a negative correlation between grain yield and grain protein concentration" "Kravchenko and Bullock (2002) determined the spatial variability of protein and oil in soybeans related to field topographical features. They found that field topography strongly influenced the protein and oil content of soybeans, and field elevation could be used as an indicator for oil and protein variation."
19	Cereal grains	KSU Guide on cereal grains for swine feed "Corn contains a greater energy density than other cereal grains and is usually the standard to which other cereal grains are compared. Improvements in genetic selection and modification have resulted in some corn varieties with enhanced nutrient profiles for use in swine diets. These corn varieties include nutrient dense, high oil, high lysine, and low phytate corn. However, the market availability of these corn varieties is typically limited."
20	Amino acids and protein	KSU Guide on protein sources for swine feed (note on lysine)
21	Widely Targeted Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Key Quality‐Related Metabolites in Kernels of Sweet Corn - Yang - 2021	"The cultivated field corns show biochemical diversity in kernels. More than 150 metabolites have been quantified in maize kernels of the recombinant inbred by metabolome-based genome-wide association study and metabolic quantitative trait locus study...Compared to field corn, sweet corn lines showed dramatic metabolic differences in seed composition, most likely due to the abnormal starch content" "A total of 568 metabolites in the three sweet corn cultivars were detected, of which 262 differential metabolites significantly changed among cultivars."
22	Soybean Processors - Soy Meal Info Center - Interactive Map	Map of 60+ soybean processing locations
23	CRA Overview 2019	-p. 7: "This year, CRA earned an exceedingly rare milestone for any trade association: we reached 100% industry representation.... the corn wet milling industry" -p. 36: Nice graphic of parts of the corn kernel -p. 37: 29 Corn refining and processing plants as of 2018 (unclear if this is only wet milling) -p. 38: Nice graphic of refining process (wet mill)
24	Canola industry in Canada, from farm to global markets	"Every year, approximately 20 million acres of Canadian farmland turn brilliant yellow as canola comes into bloom."
25	Canola: A Promising Oilseed \| MU Extension
26	non-profit to increase U.S. canola production	"The charts below show dramatic increases in U.S. acreage and yield since 1991, growing to more than 2 million acres per year."
27	History of Canola Seed Development
28	Chemists create an 'artificial photosynthesis' system that is 10 times more efficient than existing systems
29	Measuring Beyond the Bushel \| United Soybean Board	"“We measure protein and oil when we take deliveries from elevators and share that information with the elevator and the producers,” he explains. “Then the elevator is paid based on protein and oil content. It’s up to the elevator whether they pass that on to their farmers.”" Most elevators do not test for protein and oil content. The machines aren’t cheap.
30	Ethanol Plant List	202 entries for ethanol plants (majority of which are for corn)
31	Ethanol Plant Map
32	U.S. corn use in ethanol now tracks gasoline consumption \| Economic Research Service
33	Member Company Locations \| Corn Refiners Association
34	Harnessing Molecular Farming’s Potential \| The Scientist
35	Corn, the Great American Crop - Corny News Network (Purdue University)	Parts of corn kernel
36	https://www.iowaagliteracy.org/ArticleFile/File/3586AD72-7BB6-4D2E-9BF5-4CEC4CCF140F/Monocot%20vs.%20dicot%20germination%20photos.pdf	Drawings for reference
37	From feed to fuel: This is how corn is used around the world
38	Corn	Ash is 1.4%
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