ONEIDA, Ill. — Started in 1877, five generations of family farmers have tended to the soil at Pilot Knob Farm in Oneida. There's 1,100 acres of corns and soybeans, but not all that corn is what you typically think of when you imagine a Midwest farm.
"Our popcorn oscillates somewhere between five and 50 acres depending on the year, depending on the demand," Andrew Bowman said.
For more than 100 years, Bowman's family has specialized in popcorn. In recent years, he's made a business of it, selling the snack in grocery stores across the country.
"It's very similar to growing regular corn, except we need to be more gentle," he said. "Because we can clean a crop out, we can take silks and cobs and husks and things of that nature out. What we can't do is uncrack a kernel. It matures a lot earlier than our regular corn, but we like to let Mother Nature dry it down as much as we can to get that moisture just right."
Pilot Knob grows red and blue popcorn. That's a different kind than movie theater style popcorn.
"The popcorn that we grow has higher amylopectin, a lower starch content," Bowman said. "It also has a very unique flavor profile. Most popcorn is white or yellow. Those are the commodity ones that don't have the extra goodie in it that the good soils up here put in our popcorn. So ours has more natural flavor."
Popcorn is the state snack of Illinois. Bowman believes he's one of the few who grow the specialty popcorn.
They call it 'no toothpicks popcorn' that won't get stuck in your teeth because it's hull-less, which means the seed coat on the kernel is very thin.
Some of the cobs, once husked, can go directly in your microwave. You place the pop cob in a brown paper bag and it pops straight off.
"Corn and soybeans are great," Bowman said. "Everything we do on the farm is great. But cows don't say thank you. The ethanol plant doesn't say thank you, people connect with you. And that is so neat that our family farm is growing something that you can enjoy in your home. That's the rewarding part."
He works alongside his wife and two sons, the sixth generation of family farmers. Their popcorn is sold in Hy-Vee, Menards, Meijer, Cost Plus World Market, Straub's, Kowalski's and Eataly. It's also sold online. Pilot Knob is offering 8% off online if you use the code "WQAD."
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