Red
Blue
Yellow
White
Pop-pop!
Photos by Manny Crisostomo
Pleasant Grove Farms has been a family operation since 1946. The third generation includes Jessica Sills, left, surveying a cornfield with her parents, Wynette and Ed Sills.
One thing that surprises many people about popcorn is that it’s different than the kind of corn that’s eaten off the cob. “Popcorn is a unique variety of corn,” said Ed Sills, farmer and manager of Pleasant Grove Farms. “It’s different from the very beginning.” Pleasant Grove Farms produces four kinds of popcorn, each with specific characteristics, sizes and textures. Varieties include: Yellow butterfly popcorn: This is the kind sold at movie theaters, yellow in hue with a nice crunch. Pleasant Grove Farms grows small and large yellow butterfly popcorn. Yellow mushroom popcorn: Named for its mushroom-like appearance, this popcorn’s starch is concentrated in a globe at the top of the popped kernel. It holds up well in the production of glazed snacks, such as candy corn. White popcorn: This popcorn is more tender than yellow butterfly and pops a brighter white. It’s the popcorn typically sold in stores for popping at home. Multicolored popcorn: Pleasant Grove Farms grows red, yellow, white and blue popcorn separately, before mixing them together. Multicolored varieties tend to be higher in antioxidants.
Working with natural systems Sills and his wife, Wynette, have made working with natural systems a key tenet of their farming philosophy. In addition to different varieties of popcorn, they grow several types of beans, wheat, rice, corn and triticale. A primary technique of Pleasant Grove Farms is the planting of vetch and other cover crops, which provides nitrogen for future crops, builds organic soil matter and reduces the need for fertilizer. The farmers also employ crop rotation, rotating which crops grow in the same field according to the year and season. Si l ls said this helps combat pests and weeds, and also incorporates leftover plant material such as stalks and straw into the soil. In 2017, the Sillses installed solar panels that supply the electricity to run their 500-acre home ranch, which includes four wells and the mill where their products are cleaned and processed. They also installed a tailwater recovery system, with the help of a federal program, which doubles as a sediment pond. This allows them to collect runoff water and soil for re-use. “Our philosophy is, you can’t stand still for success in today’s world,” Sills said. “You need to keep moving forward.”
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May/June 2021
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