Corn

WHAT IS CORN?

Corn is a vegetable. A kernel of corn is a yellow, soft seed. Corn kernels grow on cobs in cylindrical rows.

WHERE IS CORN PRODUCED IN BC?

Corn is grown commercially in the Okanagan Valley, the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Corn is a hot weather crop. It cannot be seeded until after all danger of spring frost has passed and starts to deteriorate with fall frost.

HOW MUCH DO CORN WE PRODUCE?

BC produces 18 million kilograms of sweet corn which is about 5% of the Canadian production. Three-quarters of the corn grown is used by the processing industry.

HOW IS CORN PRODUCED?

Corn should be seeded, after the threat of spring frost, in a well-drained field. It will germinate quickly in warm soil and grow to a height of 1.5 to 2.5m. Pollen is produced on the tassels that form at the top of the plant. Cobs develop on the side of the stalk. Corn is ready to be harvested when the silk dries and the kernels are filled out. Corn is harvested by machine for the processing market and picked by hand for the fresh market.

WHAT DOES CORN LOOK LIKE WHEN I USE IT?

Corn can be eaten fresh, as corn-on-the-cob or as fresh cut kernels. It can be canned, creamed or frozen. Corn is a good source of carbohydrates, fibre and niacin. Corn is also used as feed for cattle. The whole plant is cut, chopped up and later fed to cows mainly in the dairy industry to produce milk.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE CORN LEAVES THE FARM?

After harvest, corn converts sugar to starch quickly within the kernel. Corn is best eaten soon after being picked. Much of the corn is sold the same day it is picked at roadside stands and farmers' markets. Corn which is sold to supermarkets is hydro-cooled (dipped in ice-cold water), packed into boxes, topped with ice and shipped to market in refrigerated trucks. Corn for the processing market is shipped to plants within hours of harvest. Specialized equipment removes the husks and then corn is blanched, cooled, cut from the cobs and frozen.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO CORN PRODUCERS FACE?

While BC corn growers have to contend with few insect and disease problems, so therefore rarely have to spray with pesticides, sometimes they are bothered by blackbirds and other birds that strip the husk and eat the corn. When this occurs, farmers have to use a variety of means to frighten the birds away.

WHO'S INVOLVED IN PRODUCING CORN?

• Farm owner and manager
• Field workers
• Vegetable inspector
• Canning and freezing companies and their employees
• Producers of freezer containers and tin cans
• Fertilizer companies
• Equipment dealers
• Fuel companies
• Seed companies
• Processor fieldmen
• Truckers

Interesting Fact About Corn:

Sweet corn, which is the corn that we eat fresh, is the result of a gene mutation in field corn. This mutation occurred in the 1800s in the United States and prevented sugar in the kernel from being converted to starch.

Contacts and other resources:

 

BCMAL- Field Vegetable Information

InfoBasket: Your Portal to Agri-Food Information on the Internet