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00000179-2419-d250-a579-e41d38650002Issues of food, fuel, and field affecting Illinois.

2012 Drought Still Pinching Popcorn Sellers

U.S. popcorn sellers took a big hit from the 2012 drought, which caused one of the worst popcorn harvests in recent memory. Crops not irrigated were decimated, and low supplies continue to force local candy shops and giant movie theater chains alike to pay high prices for the golden grain, biting into their profit margin.
In 2012, commercial corn fetched record prices, and popcorn was no different. The low harvest is still working its way through the supply chain, from grain bins to wholesalers to retailers. Popcorn sellers are being squeezed with high material costs.

At Del’s Popcorn, a family-owned chain with stores in Decatur and Springfield, Ill., KemperWilcutt II has watched the price of kernels skyrocket.

“It’s up as much as $10 more a bag,” said Wilcutt, who runs the Decatur shop. “That’s a big hit because we go through a lot of popcorn right now.”

Del’s shops are a holiday gift “go-to” for locals and Wilcutt is counting on the seasonal rush to make up for this year’s pricy corn.

Weaver Popcorn Company, one of the largest in the country, is Wilcutt’s supplier. Dan Seaford, production manager at Weaver, acknowledges his company is holding the line on post-drought corn. He says all of his customers are desperate for the product, so they’re willing to pay more.

“If there’s a shortage of that product in the marketplace -- if we don’t have the pounds to sell or we have to ration the pounds we are selling -- that affects price.” Seaford says it’s basic supply and demand.

Farmer Randy Fornall of Mason County, Ill., fared better than most growers during the drought of 2012. That’s because his 1,600 acres planted for Weaver Popcorn sit above a large aquifer and he relies heavily on irrigation. But Fornall says given the severity of the drought, it was still a “trying” year for him.

“Under irrigation it took a lot of water, a lot of energy cost to produce that crop,” Fornall said. “Probably more so than what we’ve had in recent years. What wasn’t irrigated, there just basically wasn’t anything there.”

The popcorn business has changed a great deal since the Jacobs family of Decatur, Ill., bought Del’s Popcorn in 1978.  Back then, Mike Jacobs’ father planted dozens of acres on their land, to supply the shop. Today, Jacobs - a farmer and owner of a Del’s outlet store himself - says regulation and consolidation make it tough for small growers to get into the business. Still, Mike Jacobs says if prices from suppliers don’t come down, he may order his own seed and plant, as his father did years ago.

“Right now I’m feeling a little bit like I’m being robbed by popcorn companies,” Jacobs said. “But it isn’t all their fault. The drought caused it.”

Movie theater chains and grocery stores alike continue to experience the economic ripple effect of the drought. But as the year comes to a close, it’s an especially difficult time for small businesses like Del’s Popcorn, which rely so heavily on sales of holiday treats.

With the 2013 crop in from the fields, popcorn sellers are waiting for relief.

Peter has a diverse background in public, independent and commercial media production. Beginning in 2011, Peter served as reporter and “Morning Edition” host for WUIS. He completed his work at WUIS in 2014. Prior to his start in public radio, he covered the Illinois legislature for NBC affiliate WANDTV-17 and helped launch Phenom Features, a non-profit apprenticeship film studio. Peter hails from Oswego, Ill., where he grew up watching WTTW-11/PBS.
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