(Photo by Johnson Fresh Farms)

By David Opinko

Taber corn should be ready in early August despite tough growing season

Jul 5, 2021 | 2:33 PM

TABER, AB – Corn growers in Southern Alberta are hoping for another a-maize-ing crop this summer.

James Johnson, owner and operator at Johnson Fresh Farms, says they got off to a bit of a slow start in 2021.

“They’ve gone through a lot of extremes, you know, from the cold spring which put a lot of stress, and there’s that frost… any crop we didn’t have under plastic, we had a yield reduction.”

Johnson says he is extremely grateful for having a good irrigation system, as it is one of the main reasons they have seen any success this year.

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The recent heatwave, while uncomfortable for most, has been a blessing in disguise for farmers.

Johnson told LNN that, before the extreme heat, they were running about 10 days behind schedule, but now, it is only about six.

This puts them on track to start selling their world-famous corn in early August.

“[In] acres, it’s probably about comparable to last year. We haven’t really done any more or less than we have over the last couple of years. We should have enough volume to last us through mid-to-end of September, kind of like how we always have been.”

At the end of the day, he says the crops are looking good and that this will be a good year for customers as well.

While he has not heard too much from other farmers in the area, Johnson believes most have gone through an equally difficult growing season, but will soon be gearing up to set their stands up.