Corn has many applications including livestock feed, ethanol, high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch, alcoholic beverages, deodorant, cough drops and more. The price of corn is affected by the ethanol market, crude oil prices, Chinese demand, the US Dollar, and climate. The most important trading venues for maize are the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the Bolsa de Mercadorias & Futuros, the Marche a Terme International de France, the Budapest Commodity Exchange, the Kanmon Commodity Exchange, and the Tokyo Grain Exchange.

Corn, also known as maize, was first domesticated in Southern Mexico 10,000 years ago. Europeans were introduced to the crop in 1492 after Christopher Columbus brought corn back with him after visiting Cuba. Maize is a flexible crop that can be grown in diverse climates and regions.

There are six different varieties of corn, sweet corn, popcorn, flour corn, dent corn, flint corn, and pod corn. Sweet corn is a naturally sweet variety that is harvested in the early stages while popcorn is characterized by a hard-outer shell and minimal soft starch content. Flour corn is one of the oldest varieties of corn that has soft starch content but dent corn accounts for the majority of US production. Flint corn is primarily found in Central and South America while pod corn is mainly ornamental. Genetically modified varieties are found in the United States, Argentina, and Canada. Most of the corn produced in the United States is cultivated in the Midwest between the months of April and June and is harvested in October or November.