Farm stands filling with corn from local fields

One of the enduring symbols of summer is the annual arrival of sweet corn grown by local farmers.

Sweet corn — the kind people are fond of devouring off the cob with butter and a little salt — has begun arriving locally, even though field-planting this year was generally delayed because of an unusually wet spring.

Corn is now becoming available at farmers markets, at seasonal produce stands and in stores and supermarkets that carry local farm produce.

“With sweet corn, it’s better late than never, as far as this season goes,” said Peter Gregg, a spokesman for the New York Farm Bureau. “It’s here now, and people should enjoy it.”

All of the people who clamor for kernels make it a top crop in New York state. It’s so iconic that the state Senate in June voted that it ought to be the official state vegetable, though the Assembly has yet to act on that proposal.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture ranks New York state fourth nationally in sweet corn production, behind only Florida, California and Georgia.

Annual sweet corn sales in the state total about $75 million, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. About 27,500 acres statewide are planted in sweet corn.

“Sweet corn is one of the most important products and crops we produce,” said Michael Moran, a spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. “This is a very exciting time of year. People have the opportunity to try some of the best sweet corn there is,” he said.

The corn is starting to come in now for Capital Region farmers, even though it was a cold and wet April, which forced many farmers to delay planting their fields, in some instances not getting final plantings in until early June.

“It was a very frustrating spring planting season,” Gregg said.

But the weather since then has been good because corn thrives with heat and rain.

“The quality of our sweet corn is generally very high,” Gregg said. “It’s one of the highlights of the summer, getting good, fresh sweet corn at local markets.”

One of the biggest local sweet corn producers is Shaul Farm in the Schoharie Valley south of Middleburgh.

Shaul Farm has 125 acres planted in sweet corn and has been picking corn grown under clear plastic tarps since July 7, about a week later than picking started last year, said Dave Shaul, one of the owners. The tarps create a greenhouse effect, speeding the corn’s growth.

The open-field corn is just now starting to be ready, he said.

Shaul Farm supplies regional supermarkets with local sweet corn, operates its own roadside stand on Route 30 in Fultonham and also sells its ears of corn to smaller roadside stand operators, he said.

Deanna Nelson, co-owner of a sweet corn farm in Glen, Montgomery County, said her family just began picking corn last Thursday.

“We’re normally picking before this. With the cold, rainy spring, we planted late,” she said.

With the late planting, much depends on whether fields got adequate moisture, Nelson said.

“For us, it looks real good. It depends on your circumstances,” she said. “Each farm is different.”

Nelson said her farm sells sweet corn at 10 different farmers markets in Fulton, Montgomery and Schenectady counties.

“People are always asking, ‘When’s the corn going to be ready? When’s the corn going to be ready?’ Corn and tomatoes seem to be the vegetables that people really look forward to,” she said.

The Nelsons’ corn is arriving just in time for some already-scheduled events, she said. She’s due to deliver 400 fresh ears for a chicken barbecue in Fonda today, and her farm is expected to provide corn dishes for a Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce mixer Thursday.

“I’m glad it’s finally ready,” Nelson said.

Locally grown sweet corn will remain available through early October or the first frost.