Corn could get upgraded status in Illinois

Mar 23, 2015

It could become the official state vegetable

There are state birds, state slogans and state flags.

There are also state vegetables.

A titanic debate is raging through Illinois where people want to make an amendment to the State Designations Act.

If Republican State Senator for Plainview, Illinois Sam McCann is successful, corn will become the official state vegetable of Illinois – effective immediately.

Sen. McCann introduced the idea after being contacted by grade four students from Chatham. To be clear, the designation would be for sweet corn.

Currently, Illinois already has 18 recognized state symbols including the eastern tiger salamander as the state amphibian, the white oak as the state tree, big bluestem as the official state prairie grass and popcorn is currently the official state snack food.

Other state vegetables around the United States include:

Arkansas - South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato
California – Artichoke
Louisiana – Sweet Potato
New Mexico – New Mexico currently has two state vegetables: Chiles, and frijoles (refried beans)
Oklahoma – Watermelon

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Services report Illinois planted approximately 11 million acres of corn in 2014. The total value of all the acres planted was valued at more than $8 billion. Illinois only trails Iowa as the largest corn producer in the United States.

Chatham, Illinois will be hosting the 42^nd annual Sweetcorn Festival July 17 & 18, 2015 at the Chatham Community Park.

Join the conversation. Do you think corn should be the state vegetable of Illinois? Does your state have a state vegetable and if so, what is it?

Corn

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.