Jimmy Red is an open pollinated (i.e., non-hybrid) heirloom variety, developed from the original multicolor Indian corns found in the Americas. However, it is not what many people commonly call "Indian corn":  most of those varieties are a flint-type (hard starch) corn, while Jimmy Red is a dent-type (soft starch) corn similar to the yellow field corn types widely grown throughout the U.S.

Like most open-pollinated varieties Jimmy Red was selected over many decades by the people who grew it. Each year they saved seed from desirable plants to plant for the next year's crop, choosing plants with characteristics which made it superior for specific uses. Jimmy Red was highly prized by moonshiners because its oil content gave distilled spirits a special flavor. (Some micro distilleries still produce a whiskey with Jimmy Red as a main ingredient.) Because it was developed by the natural process of selecting and saving seed each year, Jimmy Red is a non-GMO variety.

Modern hybrid field corn has been mostly bred for high starch content, partly because starch contributes to high grain yield and, in recent years, has become important for producing ethanol from corn. Because Jimmy Red has not been selected/bred for starch content, it has a high protein content relative to starch, making it a more nutritionally complete feed for animals. (A lab sample we submitted recently showed a protein content of 10.8%, while modern field corns average around 9% protein.)

Close-up of Jimmy Red corn: