Without farmers there would be no vodka
By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com
Oct. 4 is recognized as National Vodka Day, according to the National Day Calendar.
You can be sure some people will celebrate the day by making their favorite mixed drink with vodka.
But before people take a sip of their beverage, they should take a second to thank the farmers who produce the crops that ultimately become their favorite liquor.
A large percentage of vodkas are made with wheat, but there are also a number of other crops that lend themselves well to transforming into vodka.
Pumpkin
When fall hits, pumpkin-flavored everything is around the corner, and vodka is no exception.
When toasting with a pumpkin-flavored vodka beverage, be sure to include farmers in Illinois, who produce the most pumpkins in the U.S.
In 2012, 519 pumpkin farmers in the state planted a total of 16,426 acres and harvested 12,570 acres of pumpkins.
Potato
Vodkas made from potatoes are also a popular choice for vodka connoisseurs.
If drinking a potato vodka, be sure to salute producers in Idaho, who produced 13 billion pounds of potatoes in 2015, according to the National Potato Council.
Carrot
Jason Jannay and Gen Windley, two carrot farmers from Australia, developed a carrot-flavored vodka as a way to reduce waste.
“There is 20 per cent carrot in each bottle and we tell people to garnish their drinks with carrot sticks,” Windley told ABC in June. “We like to say the carrot vodka adds to the two fruit and five vegetables (servings) per day.”
Australian farmers produced 261,057 tonnes of carrots in 2015, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Soybeans
In 2003, Sovereign Brands, a Chicago-based company, created what at the time was considered the world’s first alcoholic beverage distilled from soybeans.
The liquor is made “from a delicate combination of soy isolates, the purest elements of the soy plant, and select grains,” according to the product’s listing.
It’s fitting a company from Illinois created a soybean-based vodka considering farmers in the state produce the most soybeans in the country.
In 2015, Illinois farmers harvested more than 9 million acres of soybeans.
Horseradish
Horseradish can be used in a variety of culinary methods, and it apparently also makes for a good vodka base.
Russia’s Hrenovuha and Wisconsin’s Referent vodka are a few examples of liquor made from horseradish.
Collinsville, Illinois and the horseradish farmers there have self-proclaimed the Madison County city the Horseradish Capital of the World.
Farmers in Collinsville produce more than 5,000 tons of horseradish each year, according to American Profile.