This weekend, just about everyone in northeastern and eentral Pennsylvania will cook-out.
On the menu may be burgers, hot dogs and a summertime staple, sweet corn. The thing is, cooler weather has pushed back local corn crops.
Scott Snyder tore an ear of sweet corn off the stalk on his family farm in Lycoming County. Fifty acres of green are slowly but surely coming into season. Most years, July 10 is the official start to the sweet corn harvest, said Snyder, however this year, the first sweet corn could be ready four to five days late.
"Looks like a real good crop, just a little later because the nights have been a little bit chilly. Corn hasn't come on the way we like it to," explained Snyder of Loyalmeade Farm. Corn needs hot, humid nights to grow, he added.
Without the warmth, corn lovers, like Fred Brown of Barbours, will have to wait a bit longer for locally-grown sweet corn.
"Wish I had it already. I'm a corn eater," said Brown. "I don't know if it's so much tradition as it's a necessity."
Years ago, Snyder said the standard was "knee-high by the Fourth of July." Since that time, Snyder said corn seed hybridization has sped up the growing season for some varieties. Despite the cooler weather, this farm is banking on a good crop this summer. You can bet its faithful customers are too.
"We hand pick everyday. We don't sell any day-old corn here, it's all fresh," said Snyder. "A lot of times on the weekends, as fast as we bag it people are here to take it."
One after the other, different varieties of sweet corn will get ripe for the picking in Snyder's fields. By the middle of the month, folks will be able to pick up their famous sweet corn at the roadside stand near Montoursville.
On the menu may be burgers, hot dogs and a summertime staple, sweet corn. The thing is, cooler weather has pushed back local corn crops.
Scott Snyder tore an ear of sweet corn off the stalk on his family farm in Lycoming County. Fifty acres of green are slowly but surely coming into season. Most years, July 10 is the official start to the sweet corn harvest, said Snyder, however this year, the first sweet corn could be ready four to five days late.
"Looks like a real good crop, just a little later because the nights have been a little bit chilly. Corn hasn't come on the way we like it to," explained Snyder of Loyalmeade Farm. Corn needs hot, humid nights to grow, he added.
Without the warmth, corn lovers, like Fred Brown of Barbours, will have to wait a bit longer for locally-grown sweet corn.
"Wish I had it already. I'm a corn eater," said Brown. "I don't know if it's so much tradition as it's a necessity."
Years ago, Snyder said the standard was "knee-high by the Fourth of July." Since that time, Snyder said corn seed hybridization has sped up the growing season for some varieties. Despite the cooler weather, this farm is banking on a good crop this summer. You can bet its faithful customers are too.
"We hand pick everyday. We don't sell any day-old corn here, it's all fresh," said Snyder. "A lot of times on the weekends, as fast as we bag it people are here to take it."
One after the other, different varieties of sweet corn will get ripe for the picking in Snyder's fields. By the middle of the month, folks will be able to pick up their famous sweet corn at the roadside stand near Montoursville.
