This State Produces The Most Corn In The US

Golden, sweet, and bursting with juice from its succulent kernels, there is truly nothing as exquisite as a fresh ear of corn. Whether you indulge in celeb chef Gordon Ramsay's recipe for spicy corn on the cob or grill it up as part of a seasonal bounty including potatoes, pepper, and eggplant, this veggie (which, when dried, is also classified as a grain) is always welcome at our tables.

The prairies of the American Midwest contain some of the world's best soil for growing crops, so it's no surprise that corn flourishes there in abundance. It often rises "as high as an elephant's eye," just like the song from the musical "Oklahoma!" claims. But OK isn't actually the state that churns out the most American corn ... that would be Iowa. 

The Hawkeye State is a corn powerhouse, having produced over $11.5 billion worth of the crop in 2024, or more than 2.6 billion bushels. Iowa is an agricultural superstar by any metric — it also produces tons upon tons of soybeans, alfalfa, and oats each year, along with millions of heads of livestock. Undoubtedly, however, its top business is corn. The United States is the largest producer and exporter of corn on Earth, and Iowa, along with Illinois, accounts for a full third of that production. Not all (or even very much) of this corn is eaten at cookouts, however. Instead, most of it is used in livestock feed, fuel production, and as part of processed products like corn syrup and grain alcohol.

Amazing soil, plentiful irrigation, and tons of contiguous acreage for farming all make the Midwest outstanding for growing crops. Iowa, in particular, is highly suitable for corn because of its deep, fertile soil and lengthy, balmy growing season. The fact that it also trades heavily in livestock is a bonus as well, because the waste from those cows, pigs, and goats (among many other animals!) is repurposed as rich fertilizer for the corn plants. American pioneers took to growing corn in the 19th century as a means of sustaining themselves and those in Iowa were especially successful. Consequently, corn has been king in Iowa for over 150 years.

Next summer, when you utilize Stanley Tucci's ingenious method for buttering corn and enjoy the sweet, salty savor of this side dish, spare a thought for the more than 86,000 corn farms in Iowa that are working hard to produce the crop that fuels America. Sweet corn only makes up around one percent of corn output, keep in mind, and it's fresh from the fields for a brief period of only five weeks every summer. On the other hand, field corn derivatives are found in your deodorant, lozenges, batteries, vitamin C supplements, and even crayons and diapers! All these daily items you take for granted are made possible by hard-working farmers, many of whom are in Iowa. Now that's a fact you can sink your teeth into!