Sweet corn

[deere755]

Do any of you raise sweet corn and sell it. We had a neighbor that used to sell it down the road but has quit doing it about 2 years ago. His son is off to college and he gave it up when his son left. We plowed up an old pasture and there is an area of it that is too small to really get into with a combine so I am thinking of planting sweet corn there and letting my boy sell it.
My question is how much does it run to plant an acre of sweet corn, seed , fertlizer, etc. I was thinking I might just side dress a little 28% on it when I do the rest of my farm. I will probably put about 130 lbs of actual n on it. I will cultivate it to control the weeds.
Next question is in a normal year how much sweet corn can I expect to harvest. The going price around here seems to be around $2.75 to $3 per dozen.

 

[smstonypoint]

Here's a link to a prototype sweet corn enterprise budget from Iowa State that should give you a starting point for estimating your potential costs and returns.


http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/BFC20.pdf

Steve

PS. You would need to take soil samples to determine the fertilizer/lime requirements.

 

[charlz]

Don't forget insecticide and spraying equipment costs, you might have to spray pretty often depending on when and where the corn grows.

 

[sweettractors]

Do any of you raise sweet corn and sell it. We had a neighbor that used to sell it down the road but has quit doing it about 2 years ago. His son is off to college and he gave it up when his son left. We plowed up an old pasture and there is an area of it that is too small to really get into with a combine so I am thinking of planting sweet corn there and letting my boy sell it.
My question is how much does it run to plant an acre of sweet corn, seed , fertlizer, etc. I was thinking I might just side dress a little 28% on it when I do the rest of my farm. I will probably put about 130 lbs of actual n on it. I will cultivate it to control the weeds.
Next question is in a normal year how much sweet corn can I expect to harvest. The going price around here seems to be around $2.75 to $3 per dozen.

Keep in mind, if some competior turns you in to the state for possible insecticide or fungicide residue in you product, they are obliged to come and take samples and test it. I had that happen to me with commercial strawberries back in the early eighties. Be careful what you put on your soil and crop. Ken Sweet

 

[om21braz]

Maybe not the best tasting corn, but my great-grandfather always raised/sold Trucker's Special. I don't know about today, but years ago the ears were so much larger than other types that he could always sell it - even if the curb market already had plenty. Or maybe that was Trucker's Favorite?

 

[deere755]

Don't forget insecticide and spraying equipment costs, you might have to spray pretty often depending on when and where the corn grows.

I was planning on not using any chemicals on it. It won't be organic but I don't want any chemical for weed and insect control.

 

[ray66v]

I was planning on not using any chemicals on it. It won't be organic but I don't want any chemical for weed and insect control.

The worms will be delighted to hear that. :thumbsup:

 

[wolc123]

I put in an acre or two a year and the cost for seed has been running around $40/acre the last few years. I go light on the fertilizer with 75-100 lbs/acre of 15-15-15 aplied with the row-planter while planting and nothing added later. I rotate the corn with white clover with (2) years of white clover between corn. This provides most of the required nitrogen free and keeps weeds under control on off years. I cultivate the corn 2-3 times and use no herbicides or insecticides. The clover always bounces back on its own without needing reseeding the year after the corn. Minimizing synthetic fertilizer application keeps the soil PH neutral, letting the clover do well with out ever needing lime. I usually plant 72, 82, and 92 day sweetcorn varieties starting around mid May with the 72, and ending around July 4 with the 92. This keeps us in fresh corn from late July thru October 1 or so. The coons usually wipe out the first batch to get ripe but by the time the second batch is ripe, I have usually taken them all out with box traps baited with peanut-butter coated marshmellows and my .22 rifle. I never sell any corn but my nieghbors, family and friends come over and get all they want. I never have any trouble with worms in the corn until later in the season, but I would rather deal with a few of them than the chemicals. If I were selling corn, I might worry more about the worms, but I dont get to many complaints from folks I give it to. Many of them appreciate the fact that it is chemical free and look on the occassional worm as "proof".

 

[charlz]

You might have to do some customer education on the worms for the later/late season corn. If they are buying it to cook on the bbq before removing the husk you might not get too many repeat customers

New ground probably won't be too bad but if you plant the same ground again the next year the worm problem will likely be worse.

 

[ray66v]

You might have to do some customer education on the worms for the later/late season corn. If they are buying it to cook on the bbq before removing the husk you might not get too many repeat customers

New ground probably won't be too bad but if you plant the same ground again the next year the worm problem will likely be worse.

Yes, unless there is some effective organic means of controlling worms, (I don't know if there is or not), it can get ugly.

I plant in the same spot every year, and this year was bad, even with using dust. I probably had a worm in 1 out of 12 ears.

That's about 4 times as many as usual.

 

[firefighter9208]

We plant sweet corn every year, but have to spray it. If you don't there will be soo many worms nobody will buy it.

We plant Silver Queen and Siverado.

We use Lannate, Asana, and Manzate (fungicide) to spray. Spray it the first time when it begins to tassle and then every 2 days for 5 sprayings. We use a 3pt mounted air blast sprayer (orchard sprayer) and spray per the instructions on the pesticide/fungicide.

You might find 1 worm in a 60 ear bushel. Everybody always compliments on how few worms are in our corn.

We use a covington planter set on 10" and plant in 60" rows. 5-10-15 as starter fertilize in the planter. About 300# per acre. The side dress when it's about 10" with 13-13-13. Come back at about 16" and sidedress with 34-0-0.

We usually sell for $12.00 to $18.00 a bushel. Depending on demand and market price.

Chris

 

[Oleozz]

We raise sweet corn to sell, the SE varieties are popular in this area. Not sure if anyone mentioned soil tests but they are important to find out what your soil might be lacking. Sweet corn needs lime and that is a big expense. I haul my own pig manure from a neighbor's pig farm so don't have fertilizer bills. I put down a pre-emergence spray and also do post spraying if the weeds come back. Warrior is my choice for an insecticide but last year only sprayed with it once and had very few worm problems.
We are lucky in that our ground is very flinty and holds the moisture, we get corn even in drought years.

 

[ray66v]

Sweet corn needs lime

Not in my high alkali clay soil.

 

[charlz]

I plant a sh type corn, it sure does not like cool soil. Corn ear worms come on a lot harder later in the season. If you target the early market with a corn that germinates well in cool(er), wet soil you might be able to get away with not spraying. I could here in my area. My first harvest, even of my somewhat late-planted variety, usually does not have any worms in it. Later plantings usually get hit pretty good. We had a cool, wet spring and I had to replant. Then we had a somewhat cool summer and it seemed the corn ear worms were not as prevalent, I had also rotated to ground that had never seen corn though.

I have tried BT for organic control but I am not sure it was effective. I sprayed when it tasseled and then every 7 days and after a rain.

 

[Car Doc]

I would sure love to know what it costs to actually get a harvest that could be sold I would tell you but seems all I grow is worm food.

We get the bottom half they get the top it gets ridiculous I even sprayed and dusted this year.

 

[jinman]

In addition to using fresh BT, I think a drop of mineral oil on each ear's silk is supposed to repel the moths that lay eggs which produce the corn earworms. BT is one of those organic insecticides that you need to know how it has been stored and handled. Because it is a living culture, it needs to be a fresh batch and never stored above 90-95 degrees F. Therefore, if you leave a bottle outside in the sun in the summer, it may get "cooked off" and not be effective. I try to buy it fresh each year and dispose of the previous year's supply. Although I've never seen anyone do it, I suppose you could build a big screen house and plant corn inside to prevent moths. They are active only at night and don't come up from the soil, but rather fly in. That's why damage may not occur for most of the season and then occur widespread after a hoard of moths arrive and lay their eggs in one or two nights. That's my opinion and certainly open to debate.

 

[wolc123]

I have noted the same thing with sweetcorn way up on the Canadian border as you have down there in Texas. Worms are never any trouble until late in the season which is September for me. It is very rare to find any before late August. I start harvesting in late July and have never used any insecticides. By the time the worms become a problem, most folks are starting to get a little sick of the corn-on-the-cob anyhow. Late in the season, we mostly harvest for freezing so the worms arent a big deal. I may see 1 worm in 6 ears my mid-September, and that is about as bad as it gets. Certainly I have no reason for spraying and, as mentioned before, some folks that get it from me actually appreciate the occasional worm as they have more fear of chemical sprays. While I certainly dont go full "organic", I use any tricks I can in that direction that save me money and improve product quality. This includes getting most nitrogen from rotated white clover, which has a side benefit of never needing to lime the soil.

 

[charlz]

They are active only at night and don't come up from the soil, but rather fly in. That's why damage may not occur for most of the season and then occur widespread after a hoard of moths arrive and lay their eggs in one or two nights. That's my opinion and certainly open to debate.

Well the larvae pupate in the soil, which is why it is good to rotate ground. They over-winter in the soil under the crops. Even if you screened in your corn if there are larva already in the ground you likely would just get them developing to moths inside. Whether or not the moths could survive to lay more eggs I don't know.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I was planning on not using any chemicals on it. It won't be organic but I don't want any chemical for weed and insect control.

Then when the ears tassle, have your boy go down the rows and put a drop of mineral oil on the husk right where the tassle emerges. That will keep the worms out.

 

[ray66v]

Then when the ears tassle, have your boy go down the rows and put a drop of mineral oil on the husk right where the tassle emerges. That will keep the worms out.

Sounds like a plan, what if I don't have a boy though?

Can I send my wife?