On a hot, humid, August morning recently, Amy Manzulich of Roxboro stood on the edge of a corn plot on the Oxford Research Station, watching her four children pull ears of corn from the stalks. Braving the heat was worth it as they each brought over ears and shucked them to see the kernels on the cob inside – their eyes lighting up with each new discovery. There was chatter about the color of the kernels and whether they were “ripe” enough or dry enough to use for popping corn.