News

August Farm Foe: When Mother Nature Has Other Plans
Summer storms can undo months of work in just minutes. Learn how wind impacts our popcorn crop, why crop insurance isn’t the whole story, and why every harvest is something... Read more...
July Farm Foe: Keeping the Water Flowing
Every month brings a new challenge on the farm. In July, it’s keeping irrigation pivots running. Learn why watering popcorn isn’t as simple as flipping a switch and how a... Read more...
June Farm Foe: The Battle Against Weeds
June on the farm means the popcorn is growing fast… and so are the weeds 🌱🌽 In this month’s Farm Foe feature, we’re sharing the real challenges of weed control... Read more...
Free Printable Teacher Gift Tags for End-of-School Celebrations 🍿✏️
Teachers deserve a treat that POPS! 🍿✏️We created a FREE printable teacher gift tag to pair with popcorn gifts for end-of-school thank-yous, teacher appreciation, and classroom staff gifts. Just print,... Read more...
May Farm Foe: Too Much Rain… or Not Enough
Planting season is here, and timing is everything. Too much rain or not enough can delay planting, impact yields, and affect how much popcorn we have to sell the next... Read more...
More Favorite Things from Women-Owned Small Businesses
Living on a farm teaches you to notice the people behind the products. These are my current favorite finds from women-owned small businesses — thoughtful, practical, and made by women... Read more...
My Favorite Women-Owned Small Businesses Right Now (From One Farm Wife to Another)
My favorite finds from women-owned small businesses—meaningful gifts, everyday favorites, and why I choose to shop small. Read more...
Troubleshooting Season (a.k.a. Farming’s Version of Mission Impossible)
Spring planting prep isn’t always smooth—sometimes it feels like Mission Impossible. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at troubleshooting on the farm. Read more...
Fungus Among Us? March’s Farm Foe: Corn Smut Explained
Not the scandalous kind — this month we’re talking about corn smut. Discover how this fungus impacts popcorn crops and what it means for quality. Read more...
February Farm Mishaps: What’s Under the Bin Floor
February’s Farm Focus takes us under the bin floor — where the real behind-the-scenes work of food-grade popcorn happens. From replacing 40-year-old bin floors to carefully managing moisture and airflow,... Read more...
January Farm Mishaps: Condensation (Why Winter Farming Still Matters)
Condensation may not be visible from the outside, but it’s a real part of winter farming. January’s farm focus shares how we learned, adapted, and improved along the way. Read more...
Partner Spotlight: Free Day Farms
Growing the Acres—and Our Gratitude As Free Day Popcorn has grown, so has our gratitude for the incredible support we’ve received along the way. In the beginning, Nate rented acres... Read more...
Early Beginnings: How Free Day Popcorn Took Root
rom one “off-contract” field in 2015 to a growing family brand—how we cleaned 12,000 lbs two hours from home, scaled acres, and built warehouses that weather the weather. Read more...
Marshmallow Popcorn Pops (Chocolate-Dipped): As Seen on The Ranch Table
These chocolate-dipped marshmallow popcorn pops from Elizabeth Poett’s The Ranch Table are pure joy—easy to make, fun to gift, and even better with farm-fresh kernels. Get the full recipe and... Read more...
A Look Back: Partnerships, Popcorn & a Century of Stewardship
A decade of Free Day Popcorn, a century of family farming. How changing rural life, steady partnerships, and four farm girls shaped our small-farm story. Read more...
Following the Footsteps before Us
From hand-built cribs to footprints in cement, we carry on a legacy of family farming with every harvest. Read more...
How Much Popcorn Do You Really Need? (We’ve Got the Answer!)
Ever been halfway through movie night and realized… the popcorn bowl is empty? Or maybe you’ve hosted a party and weren’t sure how much popcorn to buy. Guessing wrong can... Read more...
🎉 Our Website Got a Makeover — And You Get 15% Off to Celebrate!
We’ve got a fresh new look — and a poppin’ new rewards program!Our website just got easier to navigate, faster to shop, and now you can earn points every time... Read more...
Partner Spotlight: Heitmann Family
This month’s Partner Spotlight is especially close to our hearts.   We’re honoring the Heitmann family – Nate’s “Godfather,” Steve Heitmann, his wife Marla, and their daughters, Stephanie and Melissa.... Read more...
🍫 Chocolate Popcorn Bark – The Sweetest Way to Celebrate World Chocolate Day!
Celebrate World Chocolate Day with this easy Chocolate Popcorn Bark recipe! Sweet, salty, and made with farm-fresh popcorn—perfect for snacking or gifting. Read more...
Free Day Popcorn Now Certified Kosher Through Star-K
We’re excited to announce that Free Day Popcorn is now officially certified Kosher through Star-K, one of the most respected kosher certification agencies in the food industry. What This Means:Kosher... Read more...
Partner Spotlight: Brad Krenke
As we've finally finished planting and are enjoying some much needed rains, we finally have a chance to dig back into our Partner Spotlights. This time, we're highlighting long time... Read more...
Why This Kansas Business Swears By Popcorn for Every New Customer
Wave Wireless turns popcorn into a powerful (and delicious) customer experience—and your business can too. Read more...
Partner Spotlight: Orin Freitag Family
Lonny's Uncle Orin's deepest focus was on conservation and being a good steward of the land - goals we aim to continue today. Read more...
Partner Spotlight: Our farming roots run DEEP
A look back to our past. Read more...
Partner Spotlight: Lonny Freitag
Nate's dad Lonny is an integral part of Free Day's success. Read more...
Easter Popcorn Recipe
My girls love any excuse to make something in the kitchen, but sometimes the work of finding a recipe that's simple enough for them to help with can be overwhelming!!Below... Read more...
From the Land of Kansas
As a Kansas based business, we're so excited to announce that Free Day Popcorn Company is now a proud member of From the Land of Kansas! . "From the Land... Read more...
Counting down to harvest
The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. ~ William Blake Things have slowed down a bit here on the farm. We're done irrigating the popcorn for the year. The kernels... Read more...
We LOVE being your popcorn farmer
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Planting Progress
Planting season is here again! Well, it’s been here a few weeks already…Most farmers in the area are close to finishing up their corn and some are finished with beans.... Read more...
Happy National Caramel Popcorn Day!
HAPPY NATIONAL CARAMEL POPCORN DAY!! A whole day set aside for caramel popcorn?! Sign me up! Since we have some new followers on our blog, I thought I'd re-share one... Read more...
Re-launching website!
Hello! We are excited to announce the re-launch our website Free Day Popcorn! This new website will have a better integrated e-commerce system and allow us to more efficiently fulfill... Read more...
Better than Black Friday... It's #smallBusinessSaturday
Shop "small" and make a "big" difference! Shopping at small businesses helps support hard-working families make their dreams a reality. It supports community minded organizations that can make a big difference in their... Read more...
Join us for The Happy Hour!
We've been sitting on some news for the last few weeks and we're thrilled to finally spill the beans.... or pop the popcorn!!  Free Day Popcorn is honored (and surprised... Read more...
Happy Birthday to us!
One year ago - today! - Free Day Popcorn Company, LLC "popped" onto the scene and became an official business! Thank you to each and every one of our customers,... Read more...
almost #harvest2016
It's ALMOST here! #harvest2016, #fall2016 or as "Kernel Free Day" says #themostwonderfultimeoftheyear! We're literally days or even hours away. Popping Ears We planted our popcorn babies in May... and now... Read more...
Kickstarter Recap
It's been about a week since our Kickstarter campaign ended. We may have fallen short of our funding goal, but we're so grateful to use it as a learning experience... Read more...
"Popping Up Success"
If you've followed our Kickstarter updates and blog, you may remember a couple weeks ago we were interviewed by my hometown newspaper The Altoona Mirror. The article ran this past... Read more...
Last Chance and Packaging Update
Last Chance & Packaging photos August 30, 2016 | Stacey Funding Update: 28 backers $954 pledged of $6,500 goal (14%) 45 hours to go We can't thank you enough for... Read more...
Listen Up: We're ALL EARS!
Listen up! We're all "EARS" August 23, 2016 | Stacey Time is flying by! It's hard to believe there's only about a week to go! Funding Update: Thanks to all... Read more...
Local Publicity & a Sneak Peek!
Local Publicity & a Sneak Peek August 16, 2016 Local Publicity Just wanted to share that our Free Day Popcorn's Popping Ears Kickstarter campaign was recently featured in one of... Read more...
What's a handshelling tool?
Kickstarter Funding Update Thanks everyone for your support of Free Day Popcorn Popping Ears on Kickstarter! Our first week live is in the books! To date, we have: 13 backers... Read more...
What's a handshelling tool?
Kickstarter Funding Update Thanks everyone for your support of Free Day Popcorn Popping Ears on Kickstarter! Our first week live is in the books! To date, we have: 13 backers... Read more...
Irrigation season has arrived
Happy 4th of July weekend!  I hope you and your family have a chance to celebrate our great country and appreciate the unique freedoms we are afforded.  Thanks to all... Read more...
Free Samples @ Ideal Market
  Ideal Market  in Superior, Nebraska, will be popping and sampling Free Day Popcorn in their store on May 5 - 7, 2016.   Stop by and pick up a... Read more...
Rain (in moderation) makes grain!
So, the CEO/CFO/Marketing Director finally forced me to write my first blog post.  So far, I've been able to come up with excuses like planting, field work, yard work, chasing... Read more...
Will you be my Valentine?
My girls LOVE LOVE LOVE Valentine's Day! Most every time our oldest draws a picture, it has hearts all over it. Just this past weekend, the girls redecorated the house... Read more...
Know your grower
Ideal Market  in Superior, Nebraska, will be sampling Free Day Popcorn in their store on February 17-19.   Join us on Thursday, February 18 from 4:00 - 6:30 p.m. and... Read more...
Salted Caramel Popcorn
Ever since I tried my father-in-law's farm fresh popcorn, I've been experimenting with gourmet popcorn recipes. The first time I made this recipe, I knew that it was a keeper!... Read more...