Corn fields at Johnson Fresh Farms near Taber

By Teagan Rasche

2021 Harvest

Expect Taber corn to be ready for supper in early August

Jul 8, 2021 | 4:01 PM

BARNWELL, AB – The warm sun is shining on acres of lush corn crops at Johnson Fresh Farms just outside of Taber.

It’s a later start than normal as a frosty, cold spring stunted the growth of the crop.

But farmer James Johnson says the recent heatwave made up for some lost time.

“Overall, we’re still a little behind from where we’d want to be so we’re kind of anticipating that first weekend in August,” Johnson said.

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It’s only a short delay. In previous years, corn is normally ready near the end of July.

To ensure the 140 acres of corn crop grows, Johnson says the irrigation system is crucial and this year, they’re limited to 16 inches of water per acre.

“We wouldn’t be able to grow any of the crops that we grow in this area without our irrigation system,” Johnson said. “Especially with this big heatwave, you have to keep things wet or else it just burns up.”

Environment Canada meteorologist Kyle Fougere says while this year’s spring weather was pretty normal, June was a different story with about a third less precipitation than usual and a lot more heat.

And the trend continues as July came in very hot and dry.

“We’ve only had six millimetres of precipitation so far in July and expect 40 millimetres on average for the rest of the month,” Fougere said. “There are some showers and thunderstorms in the area for today and tomorrow, but after that, there’s no real signal for widespread precipitation and the expectation is the heat is going to stick around for the next couple of weeks.”

The highs and lows of Mother Nature weren’t the only challenges Johnson Fresh Farms has recently faced. Last year they had to adapt to COVID-19 regulations and a devastating hail storm that ruined a section of crops.

This year, there are supply delays.

“Right now we have supplies we just got notified that’s coming from overseas is delayed, it’s somewhere on a boat somewhere in the ocean so they’re trying to track that down and figure out where some of our packing supplies are,” Johnson said.

Shipping delays and weather challenges aside, Johnson says the corn will be sold at the same price as past years. In just a few weeks, it could be part of your supper.