A Popcorn Giant in Small-Town Nebraska: How the Zangger Family Grew an International Seed Behemoth

By Nasrin Nawa

On a bitter October morning in 1982, Chuck Zangger stood in his field near North Loup, staring at the brittle, ruined stalks of corn. The early frost had stolen the popcorn grower’s harvest — 600 acres of kernels that would never pop. 

He knelt, scooping a handful of hard, lifeless seeds into his palm, rubbing them between his fingers as the wind whistled through the empty husks. Years of work, gone overnight.

Frustration churned in his chest as he trudged back inside and picked up the phone. He expected advice or sympathy when he called his seed supplier, Crookham Company., in Idaho. Instead, the voice on the other end delivered a challenge.

“If you don’t like it, why don’t you breed your own popcorn?”

Zangger hung up, staring at the receiver. Breed his own popcorn? The idea had never crossed his mind. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. If no one was making hybrids tailored for Nebraska, maybe he should.

That single conversation sparked a journey that would grow into one of the area’s largest employers and change the face of hybrid popcorn production worldwide.