Blue Farm tortilla chips are made with only four ingredients, organic blue corn, organic safflower oil, salt and a hint of lime. The chips are made by a Midwest chipmaker, but owner Randy Hughes is the one who developed the variety and planted, harvested, cleaned and hauled the corn.
After each harvest, the corn is tested for genetically modified organisms before being used by the chipmaker, who stores the kernels in 2,000-pound bags and freshly grinds the corn before making each batch throughout the year. The total operation consists of 5,000 acres: 1,200 acres planted with organic corn, hay and soybeans; 1,000 acres, conventional soybeans; 2,500 acres, conventional corn; and 300 acres, canning crops. Hughes has six full-time employees and five to six seasonal employees.
Starting out with only 18 acres in organic production, Randy now manages 1,000 acres organically and uses his expertise to help other farmers who are considering converting to organic as well.
In 1998, the Hughes family created a 10-acre corn maze
in conjunction with the Wisconsin sesquicentennial, which brought 50,000 visitors to
the farm over three months. The maze gained worldwide attention with stories
published in
The Wall Street Journal
and
People
magazine. Last year, Hughes brought
awareness of organic agriculture to his community by providing combine rides and a
harvest lesson to 60 third-grade students.“The kids not only learned about organic
corn and its origination, they really enjoyed the snack of blue corn chips,” he says. [Credit: Top Producer magazine, Sept. 2007]
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Blue Farm Chip Company
A-Maize-Ing Corn Products Inc.
1510 S River Rd
Janesville 53546-5455
Telephone: (608) 756-3567
www.bluefarmchips.com
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