Reid's Yellow Dent Corn

We chose this corn variety because it is a solid performer that has been around since 1847.  It is a non-hybrid heirloom variety, so you can save seeds every year. 

From US Dept of Agriculture Yearbook, 1907

History

From Kansas State Agricultural College Bulletin December 1913:  Reid’s Yellow Dent is the purest and most highly bred variety of corn in America. So carefully has it been bred, and so true is its type when grown under favorable conditions, that it has become the greatest prize winner among yellow varieties of corn throughout the Corn Belt. This corn was originated by Robert Reid, in Tazewell County, Illinois, in 1847, from a natural cross between a large, rather late-maturing red corn, known as “Gordon Hopkins” corn, which Mr. Reid brought with him to Illinois from Brown County, Ohio, and the “Little Yellow” corn, a rather early-maturing variety grown at that time quite generally in Tazewell County. The cross was accidental and came from replanting the missing hills in a field of the red corn with the early yellow variety. Mr. James L. Reid, son of Robert Reid, recognized the value of this cross-bred corn and at once began to improve it. He continued its careful breeding for more than fifty years, until its characteristics were firmly fixed. The Reid’s corn has been more widely distributed than any other variety. It is probably grown in every state in the Union and in every corn country in the world.

Uses

This corn is usually ground up before using and is great for making grits and cornbread.