seed corn
Kernels for sowing
Seed corn is grain kept back from a harvest for planting the next season's crop.
The term extends figuratively to any resource preserved for future productivity rather than immediate consumption: Cutting the research budget is eating our seed corn.
The metaphor warns against sacrificing long-term capacity for short-term gain.
Inherited family treasure
- landraceRegionally adapted traditional stock
- heritage varietiesTraditional, non-hybridized cultivars
- open-pollinatedNaturally cross-fertilized plants
- conservationPreventing waste or loss
custodianship · tradition · preservation · ancestors · indigenous · biodiversity · gene bank · saving
Placing seeds in earth
- sowingPlanting for cultivation
- harvestGathering mature crops
- germinationSeed's initial growth phase
- cultivationFostering growth through care
crop rotation · tillage · husbandry · acreage · hybrid · yield · grain · cob
heirloom
Inherited family treasure
- landraceRegionally adapted traditional stock
- heritage varietiesTraditional, non-hybridized cultivars
- open-pollinatedNaturally cross-fertilized plants
conservation · custodianship · tradition · preservation · ancestors · indigenous · biodiversity · gene bank · saving · storage
planting
Placing seeds in earth
- sowingPlanting for cultivation
- harvestGathering mature crops
- germinationSeed's initial growth phase
cultivation · crop rotation · tillage · husbandry · acreage · hybrid · yield · grain · cob · husk
reserve
Supply kept back
foundation · resources · reinvestment · nest egg · principal · funding · startup · endowment · stake · essential
beginning
Initial stage of something
genesis · spark · catalyst · core · essential · foundation · potential · promise · futurity · hope