Sweet Corn

Washington, the nation’s #1 producer of sweet corn for processing

Acres harvested in Washington: 99,400 acres in 1999

Number of growers: 580 in 1997

Percent of U.S. production: 25% in 1999 (for processing)

Rank in U.S. production: #1 for processing in 1999

Value per harvested acre:

fresh market: $1,788 in 1999

processing: $621 in 1999

Value of production in Washington:

fresh market: $3.6 million in 1999

processing: $60.5 million in 1999

Sweet corn was the second highest-ranking (after potatoes) vegetable in Washington in 1999 based on value of production. The crop contributed $64 million dollars to Washington’s farm income. Processing sweet corn accounted for $61 million of this amount. During the past decade, tonnage has nearly doubled from the 1990 crop of 471,790 tons to the current 1999 crop of 823,290 tons. Much of this increase was in the Columbia Basin as new processing plants opened and some shift of acreage occurred from the westside to the eastside of Washington. Fresh market sweet corn has remained stable during the past ten years with 2,000 acres harvested in 1999. This added $3.6 million to the farm economy.

Washington exported $18.1 million of processed sweet corn in 1999. Almost all of it ($15 million) went to Japan, where it is used for soup.

 

Information about growing sweet corn can be found in the Commercial Vegetable Production Guides from Oregon State University on the web at http://www.orst.edu/Dept/NWREC/swcorn.html. Production conditions in Washington are similar to Oregon.

Washington State University publications on sweet corn can be found at

http://pubs.wsu.edu/scripts/PubOrders/webListing.asp?category=275

Overview Vegetables Grown in Washington

Why We Grow So Many Vegetables in Washington

Vegetables & Washington's Economy Vegetable Seed Production

Vegetables for Your Table Washington's Vegetable Market Vegetable Links

References Vegetable Pathology Team Vegetables in Washington Home