Iowa’s fertile soils, favorable climate, transportation network, processing infrastructure and generations of farming expertise make the state especially well-suited to grow corn.   

But true Iowans can explain the difference between sweet corn and field corn to out-of-staters.

The first is slathered in butter and dusted with salt and pepper; the other is transformed into food, fuel and livestock feed and an impressive range of versatile, everyday products.   

What is Iowa field corn used for?

Field corn helps make familiar foods such as tortillas, chips and cereals, along with essential ingredients such as cornstarch. Beyond the grocery aisle, corn-based materials can become Amazon boxes, clothing, building materials, medical products, cosmetics, resins, adhesives and much more.

Iowa also produces nearly 30% of the nation’s ethanol, a cleaner-burning fuel. What remains from that process becomes livestock feed that provides animals with the protein, fiber, fat and minerals they need for healthy growth.

Iowa ranks No. 1 nationally in pig production, No. 4 in cattle on feed, No. 7 in turkeys, No. 9 in sheep and lambs and No. 10 in milk production—creating strong demand for this nutrient-dense, homegrown feed.

So, while field corn may not appear in the produce aisle, its value still reaches the grocery cart through the livestock it nourishes, helping provide the meat, milk and eggs our families enjoy.

Does Iowa import most of the food it eats?

Every state imports food because different climates, soil and other conditions are better suited for certain types of crops.

Christopher Pudenz, Ph.D., Iowa Farm Bureau economist, said economists call this “comparative advantage.” In simple terms, areas tend to produce what they can grow or raise at the highest quality and trade for the rest.

For example, California grows nearly half of the vegetables produced in the United States and more than three-fourths of the nation’s fruits and nuts, which Iowans get to enjoy. At the same time, California's dairy and livestock industries rely on feed ingredients produced in states such as Iowa.

This type of relationship doesn't stop at the U.S. border. Mexico alone receives about one-third of Iowa’s corn exports for use as livestock feed. This creates an additional market for Iowa farmers and helps meet food demand beyond U.S. borders.

Why don’t Iowa farmers grow more fruits and vegetables?

For farmers, deciding what to grow starts with knowing there will be a market for it.

Iowa has spent generations building the processing, storage and transportation systems that create strong, dependable markets for crops like corn and soybeans.

For example, Iowa has enough in-state processing capacity to crush 93% of its soybean crop and extract oil for uses such as renewable diesel, Pudenz said. And 52% of Iowa’s corn is processed at local ethanol plants to produce fuel, livestock feed, corn oil and other valuable co-products.

That doesn’t mean Iowa farmers can’t or don’t grow fruits and vegetables. In fact, the number of edible specialty crop producers in Iowa grew from 938 in 2000 to 1,680 in 2023. Top specialty crops included honey, peppers, apples, tomatoes and lettuce.

Producing more specialty crops requires more than simply converting corn acres, said Mark Licht, associate professor and extension cropping systems specialist at Iowa State University.

“If we were to go into fruit and vegetables in large volumes all of a sudden, we have to shift what we are needing there,” Licht says. “Refrigerated cold storage, what they call ‘cold chain’ transportation, washing, packing, sorting, grading facilities and equipment are all needed. And this becomes very capital intensive.”

Labor is another significant consideration. Fruits, in particular, can be very delicate and require hand harvesting. This labor source adds to production costs, Licht said.

Iowa’s growing conditions can pose challenges, too. Harsh winters limit the Iowa farmers’ ability to grow fresh produce outside the summer months, unlike states such as California and Florida that have year-round seasons.

Our state’s humidity and rainfall can also increase disease and pest pressure, Licht said, making it harder to consistently produce the blemish-free fruits and vegetables shoppers expect compared with regions where the climate and production system is more favorable.

“When I think of the Central Valley out in California, a lot of times they’re using subsurface or drip irrigation, so they don’t have the leaf wetness,” said Licht. “They’re basically able to subvert some of the insect and disease pests based on how they’re able to produce versus how we’re able to produce.”

As a mom who inspects berries for blemishes and mold like a detective at a crime scene before putting them in the grocery cart, I get it.

That's what I appreciate about the American agricultural system; in the summer, I can take my family to local farms to pick our own raspberries, and when Iowa’s raspberry season is over, I can still have access to raspberries grown in other states.

It’s not all or nothing. Iowa agriculture includes a growing range of specialty crops alongside a corn crop that helps produce food, fuel, livestock feed and everyday products used far beyond our state borders. There’s room for diversification in Iowa agriculture without losing sight of the tremendous value that exists in a single kernel of corn.