Idaho contrasts with its neighbors when it comes to sweet corn. Seed is the state’s sweet corn niche.

Some 66% of the world’s supply of sweet corn starts with seeds developed in Canyon County, Idaho, in the state’s southwest region, according to the State Department of Agriculture.

Largely due to its climate, the Treasure Valley of southwest Idaho and southeast Oregon is a major producer of sweet corn seed but a relatively small player in retail sweet corn sales.

“The Treasure Valley is the world’s largest producer of sweet corn seed,” said George W. Crookham of Crookham Co., a Caldwell, Idaho, seed company that sells sweet corn seed on six continents.

Many other areas with much higher output of consumer-ready sweet corn have longer growing seasons, “and corn likes heat and moisture,” Crookham said. “For seed production, these areas struggle with seed quality and consistency because of moisture and environmental risk.”

For vegetable seeds, “it’s important to have low humidity,” which reduces disease risk, he said.

In the Treasure Valley, “we are a desert with adequate water,” Crookham said. Another advantage for seed production is that the area sits in a basin and has mostly gentle breezes — ideal for wind-pollinated crops — rather than huge thunderstorms.

Those farmers in the Treasure Valley who do grow corn for consumption mostly sell direct to consumers, said Richard Durrant, a principal in Big D Ranch, a Meridian, Idaho, farm that has a crop storage and sales business. A few growers market sweet corn to grocers.

“The problem with the valley is that there are not enough heat units early enough, when people want to start having sweet corn,” Durrant said. Big D sells some — including to a grocer — but generally can’t hit the July 4 availability sweet spot.

Nevertheless, Big D takes sweet corn seriously. Many varieties are available, and “we are looking at what is the sweetest and has the most consumer appeal,” he said.

Southwest Idaho farmers Nate and Kristin Pancheri started small with sweet corn a dozen years ago and have since turned the crop into “a pretty good-sized part of what we do,” Nate said. Buyers include a grocery chain and some local produce distribution companies.

“We have implemented some practices from other countries that allow us to plant and harvest two to three weeks earlier in the Treasure Valley than standard,” Nate said. The farm has sweet corn available closer to July 4.

“A lot of corn that comes into retail suppliers here is from California initially,” he said. The Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon also has availability a bit earlier and a growing season a bit longer compared to the Treasure Valley.

Washington and Oregon are bigger players in the consumer market.

Washington and Oregon accounted for 32% of U.S. utilized production in 2024, according to a 2024 Northwest vegetables summary by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Sweet corn utilized production value rose 20% in Oregon to $47.5 million and fell 38% in Washington to $76.3 million.

Harvested acres increased from 19,800 to an estimated 20,900 in Oregon and dropped from 71,500 to 61,500 in Washington, according to NASS. Yields in both states fell.

Last year’s price per hundredweight for processing was $166 in Oregon and $103 in Washington. Fresh market prices per cwt were $35.30 in Oregon and $65.50 in Washington.

Price differences reflect Washington’s higher percentage of processed sweet corn compared to what is sold as fresh, said NASS statistician Ben Johnson. Fresh production is 1.5% of the Washington total and 11.5% of the Oregon total.

“With more growers reporting higher prices for farmers markets, roadside markets, etc., that will contribute to higher average prices, especially if we didn’t get some bigger processed growers not reporting their prices,” he said.

The report does not list Idaho totals. Harvested acres totaled 3,282 in 2022, according to the Census of Agriculture.