The US State That's Responsible For Growing The Most Corn

Let's talk corn. It's big business in America. In fact, when it comes to production, corn is the biggest crop in the United States, outpacing soybeans by 10 billion bushels annually, according to Alberta.ca. But what state leads in corn production? Iowa! It can come as no surprise that Iowa leads in corn production. After all, the crop has become as iconic to the state as Herky the Hawk, the University of Iowa's mascot. You can find images of corn cobs on souvenir mugs and prominently featured during the Iowa State Fair, which even has an Iowa Corn Day as a part of its festivities. And you'd be very likely to find corn-themed and shaped kitchenware in the homes of many an Iowan (think corn pitchers, corn serving dishes, and corn salt and pepper shakers). But exactly how dominant is Iowa when it comes to the shuckable crop? 

According to the World Population Review, Iowa produced 2,296,200,000 bushels of corn in 2020. This accounted for just over 16% of the United States' corn production. Now, that's a lot of corn. Iowa was well ahead of Illinois, the second most corn-producing state, which produced 2,131,200,000 bushels of corn, and Nebraska, the third most corn-producing state, which produced 1,790,090,000 bushels of corn. If you think that's a lot of corn, you'd be right, as the United States is the largest producer of the crop in the world.

Now, you may think that billions and billions of bushels make for a lot of elote corn dip, and it does. However, it is important to note that most of the corn produced by Iowa isn't sweet corn. In fact, 99% of Iowa's corn crop is field corn, according to IowaCorn.org. But what is field corn, and what sets it apart from sweet corn? Field corn is probably what comes to mind when you picture corn fields. They have tall stems and bright yellow corn, the kind that is harvested when the cob is dried. However, you're not likely to find field corn in the grocery store, at least not in its original form. Field corn is used to make many products, but its most prominent uses are to feed livestock and to create fuel such as ethanol. The dried, dented corn is also used to create cereals and corn syrups, which can be found in many food products on the market. 

Sweet corn, on the other hand, is the corn that you are likely to find in your local grocery store. It is sold on the cob, canned (we've ranked different canned corn brands from worst to best, in case you're curious), or frozen. Sweet corn is harvested before field corn and is much softer and more plump than field corn. In terms of sweet corn, Minnesota is the top of the heap as of 2024, followed by Washington. And Iowa doesn't even clear the top 10.

So, what makes Iowa such a wonderful place to grow corn? It comes down to a few key factors. For starters, Iowa has a particularly nutrient-dense soil that is perfect for growing plants such as corn. This is compounded by the fact that Iowa has an active livestock industry. These animals, which are raised to produce food products across the country, produce a good amount of waste that is then used to fertilize corn-growing land. In general, Iowa is a great place for a number of agricultural products. But corn is the most famous, and most abundant crop. 

Corn isn't new business in the Hawkeye State, either. The crop has been grown in Iowa for over 150 years, with many farmers passing down farming practices and traditions through the generations. Yes, the farmers in Iowa know their corn. Plus, it's simply good business. Because corn can be used in so many products, there is ample reason to keep growing the product. The production of ethanol, for example, has gone up every year from the 1980s through 2022. Ethanol is often used as an additive to gasoline in fueling vehicles, and is helping to lower fossil fuel use. And that's just the start of this crop's possible uses both in and out of the kitchen (try a corn crème brûlée and thank us later). So forget running on Dunkin. It seems like America actually runs on corn (thanks to Iowa).