GENESEO, Ill. — David Powell spent the last 13 July's walking through corn fields. He's one of about 18 people detasseling corn at a Geneseo research field for Wyffels Hybrids. His average of about 17 ...

An employee of Ailes Detasseling walks through a seed corn field near Utica, Neb., in 2024. Detasseling is seen as a rite of passage for Midwest teenagers, but in recent years, more of the detasseling ...

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Nebraska lawmakers moved one step closer Tuesday to clarifying that seed corn producers in Nebraska should hire local youths for detasseling before using temporary, nonimmigrant ...

There were fewer local workers detasseling seed corn in Iowa in 2025 than in previous years as the number of temporary migrant laborers with H-2A visas doing the jobs increased, according to data ...

If I say the words corn detasseling, you probably do not think glamorous job - and you'd be right. It is hot. It is dirty. It is also a summer job that pays well for many teenagers in the Midwest.

The corn is tasseling, the silk on the ear is growing, pollination is near, and my thoughts turn back to the worst job I ever had: detasseling. In the summer of 1959, at the tender age of 12, I along ...

MONTICELLO — Corn detasseling may be considered hard labor, but for about 85 teenagers, it’s their only summer job and they are glad to have it. There is something particularly unique this summer ...