The correct answer is - biomass from the decomposing grasses.
The Midwest is a region known for its highly fertile soil. The reason for this is that the weathered bedrock combines with huge amounts of biomass. The biomass is almost entirely form the grasses. The grasses grow naturally in this region and they dominate the landscape. They grow and die out relatively quickly, as most of those grasses are one season grasses. They manage to create very large amounts of biomass every year, and also they decompose very quickly. The grasses also are high in nutrients, so once decomposed, they give the soil a lot of nutrients as well, which makes it very fertile and suitable for agriculture.
The very warm ocean waters warm the air above them and evaporate very large amounts of water vapor. This water vapor is the fuel for a hurricane as it strengthens via the latent heat released by condensation of the vast amounts of water vapor.
