Corn is the largest agricultural crop grown in the United States. Most corn grown in the United States is field corn, which is used to feed animals. People eat sweet corn, popcorn, and foods made from corn flour. North American Native Americans first grew corn over 2000 years ago. Native Americans ate it and also used it to brew beer before Europeans arrived in the New World. When Columbus landed in the West Indies in the late 1400s, the people living there gave him corn, which he took back and introduced to Europe. Native Americans taught early European settlers in North America how to grow corn. It quickly became a staple food crop for the colonists and soon they were growing enough corn to trade it with Native Americans for furs. Today, corn is being converted into ethanol, an alternative low-polluting fuel used in cars and buses. Click on PICTURES below to see a photo of a wagonload of corn. Click on CHARTS and MAPS below for additional facts about corn.