6 Unique Father’s Day Gifts with a Farming Twist
June 12, 2024
Dad, Grandad, Papa, Pop—whatever you call your father on the farm, they deserve a day of appreciation. Farm fathers embody the hard work, resilience, and traditions that are the backbone of Illinois' farming communities. We’ve put together a short list of gifts that show appreciation to your dad while also supporting farming and corn!
- Whether it’s a family hike, working out, walking around the farm, or even just for a casual outfit, everyone needs a nice pair of tennis shoes. Saucony produces an innovated and improved type of running shoe where the cushion is made from 55% corn to prevent plastic dependency. Comfortable, casual, stylish, and sustainable.
2. Family movie marathon, with homemade popcorn
- Does your dad love to binge watch movies? Let him pick his favorite movie series and have a family movie night. No movie night is complete without popcorn. Make a few different bowls of popcorn and add a variety of toppings such as cheese, salt, chocolate, or even caramel. The options are endless.
- How about a nice glass of whiskey on the rocks for Father’s Day? Take a tour of a local distillery to learn all about the process of producing whiskey, and also enjoy some of the product as well.
- What better way to celebrate everyone’s favorite guy than with a BBQ cookout? There’s nothing that says “I love you, Dad” like some BBQ ribs or pulled pork. Shop locally raised pork to find the perfect piece.
- Maybe instead of a BBQ your dad would prefer a perfectly grilled ribeye steak. Shop some locally raised beef to get your dad the best cut for this father’s day.
6. Ingeo(corn based fibers) fabric bedding
- Ingeo is a corn-based fabric. Focused on sustainability, it’s being used in the production of bedding, sheets, clothes, etc. This fabric provides a new sustainable way to produce everyday materials, and it’s extremely soft!

By Lindsay Croke
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June 30, 2025
When we think of Independence Day traditions, sweet corn on the cob is as iconic as fireworks and often even more central to the celebration. According to Instacart, purchases of sweet corn surge by 380% over the annual average heading into July 4th, outranking other grilling staples like baby back ribs and burgers. But corn's role in your Fourth of July celebration goes far beyond your plate. In Illinois alone, 8,300 acres of sweet corn are harvested annually, averaging 155 cwt per acre. That’s more than 128 million pounds of locally grown sweetness fueling summer cookouts across the state. And while sweet corn makes a big impression on the grill, most of Illinois’ corn crop isn’t sweet corn - it’s field corn. Less than 1% of the state’s crop is sweet corn, while the rest is used in products that are often invisible to consumers but vital to everyday life: fuel, packaging, fireworks, and even spirits.