It’s logical to assume that a good corn crop would promise profits for Iowa farmers.

However, this year’s bumper crop, which has been growing like wildfire all through the summer, will not help Iowa farmers — not to mention the local economy.

Thanks to the early summer rainfall and ideal growing conditions this year, Iowa farmers are looking at a bumper crop so bountiful that there isn’t enough storage for it.

And to make matters worse, there will not be a market for it.

Everyone who has ever asked, “Why do we have to study international relations?” can find the answer right here in Iowa where troubled economic times in Russia and Asia are affecting corn prices.

The price of corn may have dropped to as little as $300 a bushel, while the cost of growing that corn is much higher.

It’s easy to pretend that our lives, the welfare of our families and little bedroom communities, are not affected by what happens in a far-off country in Asia.

But the reality is that what happens in South Korea affects the supply and demand system that determines the price of our agricultural products and every other product we intend for export.

When we choose to ignore the world events that shake the very foundations upon which the world’s citizens live and work and dream, we ignore the inevitable implications of those disasters on our own lives.

When farmers can’t pay their loans and the banks begin to lose money, who do you think is going to pay higher interest on student loans?

This might be a good time to turn on a newscast and find out what’s happening in the world right now.

Then, when the price of gasoline goes up, you get a notice that your bank is raising its prices for ATM withdrawals or your favorite restaurant goes bankrupt, you will not have to ask why.

In the end, it is best to remember that our neighbors are not just the noisy guys whose late-night parties keep us from studying like the dedicated students we are.

Our neighbors include every farmer and business person across the country and around the world — even if for no other reason than we are all dependent upon one another economically.