Byron Business receives 250,000 expansion grant

Popcorn and Fridays are two things that make life better. For Nate and Stacey Freitag the connection is much deeper. The couple founded Free Day Popcorn in 2015. The Free Day name was a natural as Freitag is the German for Friday or free day.

Nate, a Byron native, is the son of Lonny and Jan Freitag. The Freitags have farmed in the Byron area for many years. Nate attended Chester-Hubbell-Byron High School where he was a member of the 2001 graduating class, the last class before the school was permanently closed.

Nate had family connections to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. His mother was from Lancaster. Other family members worked for New Holland implements. Nate would visit his grand parents in the summer. When it was time to select a college, he opted for Juniata College in Huntingdon. It was here he met his future wife, Stacey, a Huntingdon native. He earned a masters degree in educational leadership from California University at California, Penn. He then taught social studies at Huntingdon Area High School for several years.

Stacey earned a bachelor of science degree in business marketing from Juniata College. She served as a community relations and volunteer coordinator for a Huntingdon hospital. She also worked as a marketing coordinator for an engineering firm and a start-up wound care company.

The couple are the parents of four daughters: Makenna, 11, Brooke, nine, Riley, six, and Jordan, three. The three older girls attend school in Deshler. The family currently resides in Byron. They are building a new residence on their farm and will move there when the house is complete.

Nate's parents farm northwest of Byron. The family has been farming in the area since Rutherford B. Hayes was president. Hayes served from 1877 to 1881. In 2015 Nate researched popcorn hybrids and decided to make it a family enterprise.

Nate continues to teach. He is an instructor in American history for a virtual school based in Kansas. Stacey oversees the sales and marketing departments of the company.

Nate and Stacey had a simple mission when they began Free Day Popcorn: to provide customers with the freshest popcorn available The couple planted their first crop on three acres of rented land. The operation has grown considerably since 2015. Though the yearly acreage planted varies, it averages approximately 180 acres.

Nate researches the best hybrid seeds available and plants them. Popcorn is different from feed and sweet corn. It is planted in late April or early May and is harvested before feed corn.

The key to the best pop is keeping the moisture content at an exact 13.5 percent. Anything higher and the pop fizzles and anything lower and it doesn't pop as well.

Popcorn is a variety of corn which expands and puffs up when heated. The popcorn kernel hull contains the seed's hard starchy shell endosperm. The moisture converts to steam when it is heated. The pressure produced by the steam begins to build until the hull ruptures. This allows the kernel to expand to 20 to 30 times its original volume as it cools.

Popcorn is one of six major corn types and is especially cultivated for popping. Other corn types are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, flour corn and sweet corn.

Corn was originally domesticated in Mexico some 10,000 years ago. Fossil evidence suggests corn was popped as early as 4,700 BC in Peru.

Up through the 19th century popcorn was popped by hand. The term popped corn first appeared in the 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms. It was popularized in the snack Cracker Jack when it was popped by hand in its early years.

Charles Cretor is credited with inventing the popcorn maker. He was a candy store owner who invented a number of steam-powered machines for roasting nuts. He applied the technology to popcorn. By the turn of the 20th century he had created, and then deployed to the streets, carts equipped with steam-powered popcorn makers.

When the Great Depression held the country in its grip, popcorn was inexpensive and became even more popular. During WW ll, when sugar rationing curtailed candy production, people turned to popcorn at home and in the movie theatres.

Orville Redenbacher launched his namesake brand in 1970. General Mills received the first patent for a microwave popcorn bag in 1981. This led to a sharp increase in popcorn consumption.

There are six localities which claim to be the "Popcorn Capital of the world. North Loup, Neb., is one of the places.. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that corn specifically planted for popcorn is mostly grown in Nebraska and Indiana. It is also the official snack food of Illinois.

The home kitchen popcorn maker can pop corn in butter or oil in a kettle or pot on the stove top. Hot air poppers require no oil and yield a healthier snack. Microwave popcorn dominates the market as people opt for convenience over taste.

Cretors invention opened the gates for large-scale industrial production. The first caramel corn was introduced in 1893. Cracker Jack was introduced in 1896.

Cretor's machines popped corn in a consistent manner. Excess steam kept the product warm after it was popped on his carts and in his stores.

The emphasis the Freitags place on freshness is not misplaced. They ensure their popcorn is dried to ideal moisture level. Old popcorn dries out and lowers yield. Fewer kernels, pop when the popcorn is old and over dried.

White and off-yellow are the colors that emerge when popcorn is popped. Popcorn was served with milk and a sweetener as a breakfast cereal in the 19th century. Popcorn balls have waned in popularity but are still to be found in some areas, especially around Halloween. Kettle corn is normal popcorn cooked with white sugar and salt. Popcorn is high in protein and fiber. The use of butter or certain oils adds saturated fat to the mixture and is not as healthy as air popped.

The couple packages their three-pound retail bags at their warehouse on their farm outside Byron. The corn is stored in bins on the farm after the harvest. As it is needed for fulfilling bulk orders, the corn is transported to Belleville, where it is cleaned and packaged in 35 and 50 pound bags. These large wholesale bags are sent to specialty gourmet popcorn shops, kettle corn makers, private label snack food suppliers, movie theatres, banks, businesses and school and sport team concession stands.

The couple also offer popping ears as a specialty product. This leaves the kernels on the cob which can popped in the microwave. These ears are harvested by hand by Stacey with help from Makenna. Stacey inherited the task after Nate decided operating the combine was more to his taste. The popping ears are a popular item on the company website.

Free Day is the recipient of a $250,000 USDA Rural Development Business Program Value-Added Producer Grant. This grant will assist with marketing their Nebraska-grown popcorn locally. The funds will help with packaging costs associated with selling their Free Day brand popcorn directly to consumers in wholesale and retail accounts. The grant will allow for continued growth of the brand. It is an in-kind grant. The couple are reimbursed for their expenses after they have been made by the company.

All popcorn in non-GMO. Genetically modified popcorn does not exist. Popping ears come into no contact with gluten. The popcorn is naturally gluten free. It is processed in a facility which processes wheat and soybeans.

The couple have a web site for retail and wholesale orders, along with the story of their family and farm.

Free Day popcorn is also sold in retail outlets in more than seven states from Washington to Florida. Their popcorn is available for local pick-up so no shipping charge is incurred.

Next time you curl up at home to watch your favorite movie, consider pairing it with some fresh Free Day popcorn, locally grown and guaranteed fresh. The many reviews on its website attest to it being the best popcorn ever.