Farmer Makes Money From Corn Cobs

Atlantic, Iowa - While many farmers are struggling to earn a living, one entrepreneur has found a way to make a business using a farming by-product...corn cobs.  Randall Krogh recently formed Krogh Family Farms, a food manufacturing business that produces Corn Cob Sweetened Spread.

As a youth, Krogh was given a high school assignment to prepare a recipe found in a cookbook.  Krogh selected a recipe from an old family cook book for corn cob jelly.  When he showed up for class carrying a bucket of corn cobs his classmates laughed and gave him much good-natured ribbing about his project.  But when it was time to taste the results those same classmates were amazed at the delicious jelly.  The word soon got out and Krogh sold every jar of jelly he had produced for the assignment.

After graduation Krogh began to build his future and develop other interests.  A couple years ago he tried, unsuccessfully, to find corn cob jelly in local food stores.  This prompted him to locate the old family cookbook and recipe.  After a few test batches he had perfected the recipe.  The unusual ingredient is produced by boiling corn cobs.  The extracted liquid is used to flavor the unique taste to the jelly.  Krogh makes two spreads using either red or white corn cobs.  He shared the results with family and friends and was encouraged to go into production.

Krogh knew that starting a food manufacturing company would be a huge undertaking.  He began researching and seeking out assistance for his entrepreneurial idea.  This search led him to the University of Nebraska Food Processing Center.  The Center offers the nationally recognized Food Entrepreneur Assistance Program.  By utilizing this program Krogh assisted with all phases of developing his product and business as well as introducing the product to the marketplace.

Krogh sells product at Farmer's Markets in Des Moines and Ankeny, area festivals, specialty food stores in Iowa and Nebraska and now here online!  The market and interest for his product is constantly growing with new stores keeping the spread in stock every week.