Final answer:
The difference between cost and money made from an acre of corn, resulting in profit, is influenced by market trends such as the convergence of wheat and corn prices, leading to shifts in crop production due to higher corn yields per acre.
Step-by-step explanation:
The difference between cost and money made from 1 acre of corn is essentially the profit that a farmer makes from corn production. Profit is made when the total revenue from selling the corn exceeds the total costs associated with producing it. Considering historical trends, wheat prices used to be higher than corn prices, offsetting the lower yield per acre. Corn, on the other hand, typically yields two to three times as many bushels per acre as wheat. Due to this higher yield and the fact that corn and wheat prices have been converging, particularly since the price gap reported by Agweek in April 2013 was just 71 cents per bushel, many farmers in the upper Midwest, which was traditionally known as "King Wheat," have shifted their production towards corn to tap into these higher potential profits. Similarly, in North Dakota, a significant change was observed where corn acreage increased dramatically in response to the converging prices. This economic adaptation highlights the responsiveness of agricultural producers to market signals and the importance of crop yield and price in farming decisions.