Kernels of Corn History: A Brief History of 18 Iowa Hybrid Corn Companies, Corn Farming Implements and the World’s Only Corn Museum

Steve Kenkel is a fifth-generation Iowa farmer in Shelby County near Earling, IA. His appreciation for history led him to identify 18 Shelby County hybrid corn growers who operated their companies from the early 1920s into the 1960s. As Steve started sharing his historic findings with others, his small vintage equipment/artifact collection grew into a full-fledged museum. Loretta Sorensen is a long-time ag writer and photographer (turned publisher) at Yankton, SD. Her first experience with vintage equipment came from her husband’s hobby of farming with Belgian draft horses. She worked closely with Steve to gather equipment information and detailed history that brought added depth to the colorful story of early Iowa farmers who helped lead the agricultural revolution that followed the development of hybrid corn varieties.