people first began to farm corn (instead of picking it wild) around 7,500 BC in Mexico, a little later than they started to farm squash and avocados. Gradually people bred the corn plants to have more and more corn - bigger ears, with more kernels, and easier to eat - and fewer leaves. Soon - about 6000 BC - their southern neighbors in Ecuador were growing corn too. By about 1 AD, the Pueblo people in North America also grew corn.