WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Indiana set records for its popcorn crop in both yield and production last year, boosting it by 10,000 acres since 2013.
The Hoosier State competes with Nebraska for the spot as the biggest producer of popcorn each year. Indiana was second in 2012, a drought year, when the last national ag census was taken. Other states lag far behind in popcorn.
Farmers in Indiana last year planted 91,000 acres of popcorn, of which 90,000 acres were harvested, according to a report by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), produced for Purdue University. "Although some producers lost a percentage of their crop due to scattered, severe weather in the early spring, many fields handled the storms well," said NASS state statistician Greg Matli. "Producers were able to harvest the majority of the crop, which led to the highest production in the state on record."
The average price farmers received for their crop was down $2.80 per cwt. from a year earlier, at $18.90, com-pared with $21.70 in 2013. The crop value was $81.65 million, up almost 1 percent from the previous year.
The number of Indiana acres in popcorn is small compared to the 5.77 million acres in corn for grain, but it appears to be growing each year. In 2010, Indiana harvested 63,000 acres, and that number has gained steadily each year.
Langeland Farms, a sixth-generation diversified farm in Greensburg, supplies certified organic popcorn in bulk and in smaller bags for retail on the Hoosier Harvest Market, an online food hub.
"I’ve seen significant growth in my market. I’ve increased contract acres, and I’d like to find more growers. I’m a supplier, and the market would support more acres," said owner Patty Lange Fischer. "It seems to be a result of the growth in the healthy snack market."
Gutwein Popcorn, LLC in Francesville is also seeing an increase in sales for its various popcorn varieties, said owner Harvey Gutwein. Gutwein retails direct to customers on his website, http://gpopcorn.com
"We are selling more both domestically and in exports, but I see more potential in exports," he said. "China is eating more popcorn."
Currently, the family business, in popcorn since 1998, sells to Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, and it is exploring markets in China and Taiwan; however, Gutwein is not expanding his contract acres for popcorn this year. "Everybody had a good crop last year, and we are able to sell what we have. We will have the same acres as last year," he said.
