Mike Penick, of Carlisle, Iowa, opened his farm stand today and began selling the most sought after crop.
Penick had these satirical comments on how easy it was to grow a crop this spring.
“Oh, its been an excellent year! We’ve had cold weather, we’ve had rain and now we’re dry. I guess you could say it’s a normal year in Iowa,” Penick said.
Des Moines is ringed by sweet corn growers, as are most other cities of size in the state.
Everyone gets hyped up on the first dozen ears of sweet corn they buy, but for Mike Penick it has been touch-and-go since he put the seed in the ground back in April.
“About half the time we are ready to go by July Fourth. This is the latest I’ve seen the crop in recent years,” Penick said.
He says the early corn will be small because the cold weather stunted its size.
“Its good corn, but the ears are a little smaller than normal,” Penick said.
Penick says all the corn he grows is good, but the best comes a little later in the season.
“The best corn comes about two weeks to seventeen days after the first crop,” Penick said.
His stand is on Highway 65-69, south of Des Moines, across from the corn maize. He will also be at the Downtown Des Moines Farmer’s Market on Saturday from 7 a.m. til noon, or until he runs out.
Penick says the customers who come back year after year make it all worthwhile.
