When Grandma Mac moved to Oregon, she was very frustrated because it was impossible to can all the fruit and vegetables that were produced, and some was wasted. Knowing Grandma, I'm sure she gave it her best canning shot. Back to the sweet corn. Very little of what was planted went to waste. If you're a country gardener, each summer is a battle with the raccoons for the succulent ears.
Gardeners have many ways to try to divert the beasts from their crop.
One neighbor puts a radio near the garden. When the corn is almost ready, the radio is played all night long to scare the raccoons away. I don't know, but raccoons aren't dummies. My guess is they just dance along to the music as they chomp away on those tasty ears of corn. Another neighbor heard that raccoons will not cross a line of human hair in the field.