View from the Cab: Corn does it all

By Kent Casson

Let’s talk corn during this tasty season.

Instacart notes that sweet corn purchases surged by 380 percent over the annual average heading into July – outranking other grilling favorites like burgers and baby back ribs.

Here in Illinois alone, 8,300 acres of sweet corn are harvested each year, averaging 155 cwt per acre. That’s more than 128 million pounds of locally grown sweetness behind summer cookouts around the state.

Sweet corn on the cob is as iconic as those fireworks we associate with the month of July and often central to the celebration.

Most of the state’s corn crop isn’t actually sweet corn but rather field corn. While less than a percent of the Illinois crop is sweet corn, the rest is used in products that are often invisible to consumers but vital to everyday life such as fuel, packaging, fireworks and spirits.

The Illinois Corn Growers Association reports ethanol made from corn reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 percent compared to fossil fuels and about 98 percent of U.S. gasoline contains at least 10 percent ethanol.

Not everyone realizes that fireworks rely on corn. The starch helps them explode in vivid color. Around 350 bushels of corn is needed for just one season supply of starch.

Did you know corn is also used in vodka? One of America’s fastest growing summer spirits, corn-based vodka, saw sales increase over 90 percent during summer holidays based on Instacart information. Illinois sold 3.3 million 9-liter cases of vodka in 2023 making it the fourth largest vodka consuming state in the country.

Corn-based plastics used in straws, cups and packaging offer a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based products and often show up in picnic baskets and party setups.

“The versatility of field corn touches nearly every part of your summer celebration,” says the Illinois Corn Growers Association.

Corn could very well be more American than apple pie.