Our customers have been shopping at Schlechter Farms for over forty years for our super-sweet yellow and white corn. By lowering the temperature quickly and thoroughly through our hydro-cooling unit, the conversion of sugar to starch is substantially slowed, capturing the sweet taste at its peak. The taste and quality of sweet corn depends heavily upon its sugar content, which rapidly decreases after harvest if ears are allowed to remain at field temperatures. Our farm is one of the few in the state of Oregon with a hydro-cooler, which is an ice machine unit and a cold water spray that preserves the taste and shelf life of the freshly-picked corn. The hydro-cooler is a very important method of cooling the corn in order to keep its sweetness. The wagons of freshly picked corn are brought from the field to the farm, where the corn is sorted, hydro-cooled and packed in boxes for the wholesale market or bags for our produce stand. Storage of Crops and Processing Equipment We pick our corn so early because the air temperatures are cooler and that helps to keep the corn fresh. In mid-season, it’s not unusual for us to pick seven or eight wagons of corn a day, starting two or three hours before daylight. The corn picking machine utilizes a gentle pulling action that imitates hand picking, virtually eliminating damage. We have used a Pixall single-row tractor-pulled corn harvester for the past few years, which is specially designed for picking fresh market corn. Special Machinery Used For Harvesting and Packing You can be assured that Schlechter Farms corn is committed to growing sweet corn of the highest quality possible. We irrigate regularly during the dry summer months, so that our delicious corn is juicy and sweet. Weather permitting, we try to plant a few acres of corn every week from mid-April to July 4th, so that we have a constant supply for our customers from August 1st through late October. A Monosem 8-row planter is used to plant our corn. We rotate our crops from year to year, so the corn fields may be on upland ground one year and on Lake Labish the next. We must meet strict guidelines for planting, harvesting and packing, and also for cooling and storage methods of the crop. Starting in 2014, our corn crop has been certified as meeting the standards and practices of the US Department of Agriculture's "Good Agricultural Practices" program. And since the early 1980's, we've operated a produce stand of our own during the corn season from early August through late October. We also supply corn and other vegetables to several of the Willamette Valley farm produce stands and grocery stores. Many of the produce vendors at farmer’s markets in Oregon purchase sweet corn from us for resale to their farm market customers. Part of the farm is located in Lake Labish, where we grow the red and yellow onions for which Lake Labish is famous. Over the decades, winter squash, grass for seed, broccoli and four gardens of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and other farm-fresh vegetables have been added to the crop rotation. Jim started farming in 1971 with wheat and clover seed, but switched in 1978 to sweet corn and onions. Email: Farms is continuing a family farm tradition that dates back to the early 1900's when Jim's grandfather, Joseph Schlechter, settled in the Willamette Valley.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |