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The Tip is 'Don't procrastinate' For years I've been buying ink jet cartridges from a big box office supply store. These cartridges were made overseas and labeled with the well-known brand of a large American printer company. One I remembered a local store that advertised quality cartridges. I had traveled by this local store hundreds of times but never stopped. This time I stopped at the local store. To my surprise I discovered that they carried the cartridge I needed and it was a Made in USA cartridge. Made in Chicago, to be precise, and it was half the price of the imported ones I had been buying for years. The quality is exceptional and they last longer too. Who knew? After that experience, I make a point to stop at every store I can. By doing so, I've been finding more and more Made in America products. Occasionally the clerks don't know the country of origin; this can be discouraging but finding the origin information yourself isn't difficult I've come to realize. Believe it not, there are actually a number of computers made in the US including laptops made in the USA. When the label is not visibly displayed I use the other Made in America buying tips to help me find Made in US. If the store doesn't carry what you are looking for, use Made in America Secrets to find it and tell the manager about your experience at their store. If enough people are asking for Made in America products stores will begin to carry them. Buying Tip Continued - Read more on Made in America Products by Tiny But Mighty Gene and Lynn Mealhow, and their sons, have been producing Tiny But Mighty Popcorn? since the late 1990s. A third-generation family farmer and soil consultant by profession, Gene continues to consult with farmers regarding sustainable practices. He bought the popcorn business from Richard Kelty, whose family had farmed in Urbana, IA for several generations. In the 1980s, when his father and uncle left farming, Gene started to look at the whole picture involving groundwater and chemicals. He joined a soil consulting firm, which advised farmers about soil nutrients and seed selection. One of Gene's first customers in the early 1990s was Richard Kelty, who brought Mealhow in to reduce his waste and increase his yield. The popcorn stalks were falling down and producing only 600 lbs per acre, which was not commercially viable. One of the early challenges was getting the three-inch long ears to fill to the tip. Gene's first reaction when he encountered the tiny corn kernels was What in the world is this stuff? He began consulting with experts from around the United States, and discovered that the K&K kernel is most likely a variety of flint corn. The Kelty and Kramer families either found it growing in Iowa when they settled here in the 1850s, or they traded for it with local Indians. It may have even originated in the western states. According to Richard Kelty, original owner of the company, his great, great, great-grandfather, Samuel Kelty, settled just northwest of what is now Cedar Rapids in the 1850s. While no one in his family knows exactly where the seed came from, they believe it came from Indian neighbors. When Richard Kelty returned home from the army in the mid-1970s, he found the last remaining seed in a fruit jar. He popped some and planted the rest?and a new business was born. What makes Tiny But Mighty popcorn unique, besides its tiny kernels and disintegrating hulls, is that it is open pollinated. A 128-day corn, TBM is also difficult to raise, process, and keep its integrity. Gene consulted with a popcorn breeder from Idaho, who said TBM was a rare variety. Because it is hard to breed, most people in the popcorn industry wanted nothing to do with it. For the Mealhows, popcorn is not just a business. It's their passion, and Tiny But Mighty Popcorn? is a product they do not want to die. One of their biggest pleasures is meeting customers, who range from friends to people throughout the United States. In fact, Gene doesn't like to use the word customer, instead, he builds friendships with people who enjoy his product. At a recent trade show in Chicago, Mealhow was thrilled to have a mother say to her kids, This is a real farmer, and he's from Iowa. |
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