CHICOPEE— The McKinstry family’s farm is known for their corn. They have a variety of different types and they typically have it ready by the Fourth of July each year.
"We've been waiting since last October for this day,” said Bill McKinstry.
On July 3, the McKinstry family started picking their corn at their Chicopee location. Will McKinstry said in one day they are probably picking 10,000 ears. They sell their fresh corn in their store.
While Bill and Will are out in the field, Warren McKinstry stays back to help his mom in the store.
"From the day we open up in May people are hoping we have it already but it takes a while to grow. Every year we hope for July 4th, this year we had it the third,” said Warren McKinstry.
It’s an early arrival for their corn. This is after challenges from Mother Nature earlier this year that caused an impact on their crops.
"It’s been very trying very cold, wet then we had the heat,” said Bill McKinstry. “The heat really helped us but the cold really affected the sweet corn, our yields are going to be way off."
He told Spectrum News 1 that they are only expecting about 30% yield out of this field, but they are having no problem picking the cream of the crop.
"It’s two ears on a plant usually but we only pick the top ear because thats where all the sugar goes,” said Will McKinstry.
On the first day of the corn harvest, the parking lot was full and lines formed outside the market. People were getting ready for the holiday and picking up corn and other fresh grown food.
"It’s been a good day so far,” said Warren McKinstry. “We're definitely going to sell out. We are going to have to limit it to two dozen a person, but it’s definitely worth it."
In addition to limiting the amount of corn, only ten people allowed in the store at one time and masks must be worn. As people get their corn in time for the Fourth of July, these family farmers are just as excited as their customers.
"It’s fun to do but the satisfaction of feeding your local community is really rewarding,” said Will McKinstry.
Warren McKinstry added, “Its great, You can't beat it. It's that time of year, Fourth of July, nice McKinstry corn. Can’t go wrong there best corn around, nice and sweet."
Although they said they will probably sell out, they do plan on picking more on Friday so there will be more corn for their customers.
The Link LonkJuly 04, 2020 at 02:38AM
https://ift.tt/2NVhCN2
Grabbing Corn for the Cookout - Bay News 9
https://ift.tt/3gguREe
Corn
No comments:
Post a Comment