Image via Facebook / Blue Farm Chips
Blue corn tortilla chips add festive color to any meal, but the robust, nutty taste of blue corn has a pop of flavor that enhances salsas, dips and entrees. Heath experts also cite blue corn as having more protein than common yellow or white varieties. Wisconsin’s own Blue Farm Chips, certified organic blue corn tortilla chips by Janesville-based A-Maize-ing Corn Products, is a truly local product from field to bag.
Blue Farm Chips’ Randy Hughes, a fifth-generation farmer, took over his family’s farm in Janesville during the midst of the ‘80s Farm Crisis. He knew two things had to change if he wanted to pass the family farm on to future generations: he had to differentiate himself from other farmers growing #2 yellow corn (widely used in snack food and cereal production), and he had to better utilize the land and soil.
Hughes started experimenting with organic growing methods during the late ‘80s and became certified organic by OICA in 1990. He was impressed by the improved soil health. “You feel so good when you’re growing crops organically. You feel like you are farming with Mother Nature rather than trying to beat her at her own game,” he says.
New to Wisconsin
But blue corn in Wisconsin? “Nobody else in Wisconsin was growing it,” Hughes affirms. He loves Mexican food and had enjoyed blue corn chips while visiting the Southwest. A friend of Hughes that started a natural foods store told him he wasn’t aware of a Wisconsin-based producer of blue corn chips.
Blue corn is commonly grown in the Southwest. Hughes says it was brought to Mexico from South America by the Aztecs and Incas, and it’s more nutrient dense. Blue corn crops differ from other varieties in that it has lower disease resistance and takes longer to mature—a challenge when attempting to grow it in colder, wetter climates with a shorter growing season.
Hughes studied agriculture at the University of Wyoming in Laramie and is well versed in the history of seed stock, propagation and hybridization. He always bred his own corn. He acquired some blue corn, and with the help of agronomist Bob Tracey, they did hybrid experiments and even took their seed to Chile during a three-year refining process to create a blue corn species that could grow successfully in Wisconsin.
To prevent his 300-acre blue corn crop from being tainted by pollen drift from neighboring farmers that use pesticides or grow genetically modified organisms (GM) crops, Hughes’ fields are closer to town and away from other fields, yet isolated so he can control the genetics.
The corn goes from Hughes’ Janesville farm to a processor in Beloit—less than 20 miles away—that make the tortilla chips. After each harvest, the corn is tested for GMOs. The chipmaker in Beloit stores the kernels and freshly grinds the corn before making each batch throughout the year.
Hughes is pleased to see more people caring about what is in their food and where it comes from. Blue Farm Chips are only available in Wisconsin “and the states that touch it,” he says. “We’re not trying to be a national brand. That goes against everything we advertise. We’re the local guys.” He’s been approached by large national retail chains to carry Blue Farm Chips but turned them down.
For more information, visit bluefarmchips.com.
