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It's a good year for sweet corn crop in southern Indiana

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Larry Durchholz Sr. started farming right out of high school in 1977.

He and his three brothers took over the farming operation from their parents and since then they have become incorporated as Durchholz Farms Inc, but it still remains a family business. Durchholz's three sons, Mark, Frank and Larry Jr., are now a part of the business as well.

This year Durchholz says he has seen the best sweet corn crop from the past three years and despite it not being one of their main crops, they still have people who rely on it.

"Sweet corn is more of a garden project," he said. "We use it mainly for our own use and friends who like it through the summer."

Durchholz Farms grows feed corn, soybeans and wheat as its main crops. Feed corn is used for animals, whereas the sweet corn is what most people are familiar with eating. Durchholz said it's still a bit early to say whether the feed corn harvest will be as successful.

"The feed corn is looking very good so far," he said. "We haven't got it harvested and it's not in the bins. We have a lot of weather to get through still."

He said they will probably harvest that crop within the first week of September.

Durccholz said it's important to know farmers are quite dependent on the weather, but they do as much as possible with seed and fertilizer.

"All we can do is our best that way," he said. "A lot of it is left up to Mother Nature to give us the rain."

The Durcholz Farm isn't the only local farming operation which has seen success so far this year. Mayse Farm Markets owner Paul Mayse said this year the ears are bigger and the corn is sweeter.

"Last year it rained all the time," Mayse said. "I think that affected the flavor of the corn."

He said sales are also up because the quality of the corn is better. They expect to be able to sell sweet corn through the middle of September.

"Last year we didn't have it that long because we couldn't get our late sweet corn planted," Mayse said.

But this year the weather has been on their side.

"(We've had) an inch of rain about every week," he said. "It's been real beneficial."

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Source: Evansville Courier & Press, http://bit.ly/2vJRvic

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Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com

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