We should stop growing corn for ethanol since it's worse for the climate than gasoline[1] and instead use all that land and machinery to grow wheat instead.
1. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-corn-based-e...
1. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-corn-based-e...
Many people are suggesting eating less meat to help potential food shortages, switching corn to wheat actually loses about as much food as feeding corn to cattle. (i.e. a cornfield switched to wheat and a cornfield fed to cattle would result in a similar number of calories)
We indeed should stop producing ethanol, but plenty of hungry people around the world could be just as happy eating corn as wheat.
Saskatchewan isn’t going to support a big corn crop, but wheat, pulses and oats do very well.
Ethanol subsidies let farmers already invested in corn grow more corn than they might otherwise sell for food, and politicians get to say they're doing something for renewable energy.
As with so many other things in politics, the good of society isn't the driving factor. Money and talking points are king.
Looks like that rotation is pretty common but there are some details to concern oneself with.
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/considerations-whe...
Wheat is also a viable winter crop --- fall planting / spring harvest for "winter wheat". That typically means 2 crops a year (winter + summer), and possibly more.
Rice is the third staple crop, though it wants a lot of water, and tends to be grown in subtropical climates as with China and India.
Other substitutes include barley, oats, millet, etc., though those are far less prevelant than wheat & maize.
There are required varieties and practices for growing corn intended for direct human consumption (i.e. making cornmeal or breakfast cereal).
Most corn though goes to animal feed, industrial uses (corn starch, syrup, etc), or export.
(source: am a 5th generation corn farmer)
The main differences are days to maturity, resistances to a variety of things, and nutrition content.