Knee-high by the Fourth of July is no longer the standard for many corn farmers, as they face increased prices on goods and competitive markets. Farmers are now aiming to see their crop around waist-high or taller.
Matt Frostic, a farmer from Applegate and board member of the National Corn Growers Association, said that he would be worried if his crops were only knee-high heading into July.
“Thirty to 40 years ago, 120 bushels of corn was really good corn crop,” he said. “Today, I need 200-plus bushels of corn to pay bills and to function.”
Frostic said that having a more mature crop going into July allows for a better yield come harvest season. He explained that once a crop hits its reproductive stage earlier in July, it gives it more time to soak up the sun and reproduce more kernels.
“So we're trying to build that plant structure up as fast as we can get it, so that it has time to take advantage of that sunlight heat to reproduce,” he said. “If that corn plant structure is in reproductive phase by early July, that means I have a good 60 days to have that plant reproduce.”
Waylon Smolinski runs Green Acre Farms in Lachine, about 20 miles west of Alpena, and grows a variety of plants throughout the year, including corn. This year, he says that his crops are on track for a good harvest.
“We've got the proper rains, there’s not a lot of fungi and molds out there, we've gotten the heat units you need to get things ready for harvest,” Smolinski said. “Overall, we're on track, things are looking good. We're just really watching prices.”
Right now, his corn stalks are right around his waist. He said that the crops up north are a little smaller than many of the farms downstate.
“Some of that corn by the Fourth downstate was almost ready to tassel,” He said. “It was up to people’s heads.”
A big factor in the difference in sizes is how diverse the land is up north compared to the southern regions of Michigan. According to Smolinski, farmers downstate will plant earlier in the spring and aim to have mature crops by 100 days.
Smolinski said that until the fall, he and his team are focusing on the quality and quantity of their crops.
“Things are exploding,” he said. “It’s beautiful. Things are going good after a slow start.”
This story was produced by the Michigan News Group Internship Program, a collaboration between WCMU Public Media and local newspapers in central and northern Michigan. The program’s mission is to train the next generation of journalists and combat the rise of rural news deserts.