From One Kernel to Thousands of Products

Less than 10% of Wisconsin is used for growing corn, but that percentage has an impressive impact. In 2025, Wisconsin’s corn industry generated $5.1 billion in economic output and supported more than 19,500 jobs.

I’ve enjoyed celebrating corn as Alice in Dairyland at the Sun Prairie Sweet Corn Festival, the Randolph Community Corn Carnival, and during my tour at the United Wisconsin Grain Producers (UWGP) facility. Plus, every mile I drive is fueled by ethanol!

The iconic Alice in Dairyland vehicle is wrapped in a Wisconsin corn design and sponsored by the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board. Currently nicknamed “Sprout,” the 2026 Ford Explorer I travel in is both fueled by Wisconsin corn and easy to find in parking lots.

Ethanol, an organic biofuel, is created through a process of cleaning, separating, and purifying corn. In Wisconsin, ethanol production generates $4.2 billion annually and uses about one-third of our corn crop. Dent corn, commonly referred to as field corn, is used for ethanol and is the most prevalent type of corn grown in Wisconsin.

There are nine ethanol facilities in Wisconsin, as stated by the Renewable Fuels Association. I recently toured the UWGP ethanol facility in Cambria. UWGP is a farmer-owned ethanol plant that processes locally grown corn into ethanol fuel, distillers grains, corn oil, and high-protein yeast products for livestock feed and global markets.

Ethanol production not only helps support the approximately 15,000 corn growers in Wisconsin, it’s also more efficient! It takes three times more energy to produce a gallon of petroleum-based gasoline than it does to make a single gallon of ethanol.

In addition to ethanol, dent corn is used in thousands of other ways, including bio-based products like carpet, cosmetics and aspirin; food uses like corn flour made from ground, dried corn; and livestock feed. About 60% of the corn grown in Wisconsin stays on family farms to feed livestock such as dairy cattle, beef cattle, pigs, chickens, and other farm animals. With a high demand for feed from our successful livestock industries, Wisconsin continues to rise to the top for corn. Wisconsin ranks number one in the nation for the production of corn used for silage, and 11th in the nation for corn used for grain.

Furthermore, Wisconsin ranks third in the nation for sweet corn! Sweet corn is the type of corn many people love to enjoy on the cob, as a side dish, or in a variety of other recipes like homemade corn salsa. Only about 1% of the all the corn grown in the United States is sweet corn due to a lower demand compared to field corn. Sweet corn is lower in starch than field corn, which impacts the ability to use it in products such as ethanol. Another difference is that field corn is harvested when the kernels are dry and hard, compared to sweet corn, which is harvested when the kernels are soft and flavorful.

Two other types of corn include popcorn and flint corn. As you may have guessed, popcorn is used for a delicious, crunchy snack that’s often enjoyed during movies. Flint corn is not grown as commonly in the United States, but the colorful kernels make for excellent fall decorations and murals!

Whether you’re fueling up with ethanol blends like Unleaded 88 or enjoying a bite of flavorful sweet corn, Wisconsin’s 15,000 corn growers sometimes work around the clock during the busy fall harvest season to provide a high-quality crop. WICorn.org has information about our Wisconsin corn farmers, innovations in agriculture, ethanol production, and general facts about Wisconsin corn!