Keith Wedgworth of EAA Farmers, Inc & his son, Wells, at their family farm in Belle Glade.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA – Sweet corn season is in full swing in Palm Beach County’s Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA), with farmers projected to harvest 430 million ears of locally grown sweet corn by the end of May. Almost as many ears will be listening for the starting bell that inaugurates the International Federation of Competitive Eaters Corn Eating Contest at Sunday’s 18th Annual Sweet Corn Fiesta at the South Florida Fairgrounds, where contestants are looking to unseat last year’s winner and new world record holder Carmen Cincotti!
“We have so much activity happening right now focused on our spring sweet corn season,” said John S. Hundley, Vice President of family-owned Hundley Farms and President of EAA Farmers, Inc. “The EAA is the nation’s largest grower and supplier of fresh sweet corn and EAA farmers are proud to provide Americans’ tables with healthy, homegrown sweet corn.”
Eager to sample the freshly harvested sweet corn and enjoy the family fun with rides and game are the more than 4,000 visitors expected at this year’s Sweet Corn Fiesta. Corn-shucking attendees come for the delicious sweet corn that grows in the famous black soil of the Glades Region of western Palm Beach County.
When: Sunday, April 29, 2018
Time: 11:00am – 5:00pm
Where: Yesteryear Village at the South Florida Fairgrounds
9067 Southern Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33411
“The sweet-corn-eating competition heats up higher every year,” said Hundley. “But this year’s Sweet Corn Fiesta will be a great one.”
Combine the delectable, homegrown crop with all-day harvest celebration events and you have a family-friendly experience with live music, summertime eats, kids’ activities and more will keep you smiling all the day long. Just be sure to pack a toothpick.
The EAA farming basin, south of Lake Okeechobee, is one of the nation’s largest fresh-market sweet corn producers and supplies fresh products all over the United States, in Canada and across the Atlantic to Europe. EAA farmers promote their products through Sunshine Sweet Corn Growers Association. This season, local farmers will harvest about 9 million crates, each containing 48 ears, of locally grown sweet corn. The crop is grown on nearly 30,000 acres in the EAA.
“EAA farmers provide American tables with homegrown fruits and vegetables. The EAA is among the most fertile farmland in the United States and our largest supplier of winter vegetables including sweet corn when other farm states are too cold to grow fresh produce. Florida wouldn’t be what it is today without the farms that grow wholesome, delicious food,” added Hundley.
Sweet corn is an ideal crop to grow in rotation in the EAA with 96 percent of it grown on farmland that rotated out of sugarcane. Crop rotation is a sustainable farming practice. Sweet corn allows local farmers time to plant a rice crop following it just before going back into sugarcane. Each crop in the cycle benefits the next.
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