Overview

According to USDA reports, commercial sweet corn production for the fresh market in 2008 surpassed $752.6 million in value and over 2.9 billion pounds in volume, increasing both in value and in volume. That same year, commercial sweet corn for processing (canning and freezing) was valued at a record $330.3 million and totaled 5.7 billion pounds, a decline from the previous year. However, the volume of corn for canning actually increased, while the volume of corn for freezing decreased (ERS 2009).

New genetic lines of sweet corn have improved consistency, taste and shelf life. Because of these genetic improvements, sweet corn consumption continued to increase, peaking at 29 pounds per person. By 2008, however, per person consumption of sweet corn averaged 24 pounds per year. Of that amount, Americans ate 9.2 pounds of fresh sweet corn per person. Fresh sweet corn consumption now exceeds the level of frozen corn consumption (8.4 pounds per person) and of canned corn consumption (6.8 pounds per person).  July 2009 . . . Sweet Corn

Marketing

• Consumer Acceptance of Agricultural Biotechnology: A Market Experiment with Conventional and Biotech Sweet Corn, Agricultural Issues Center, 2005 - An analysis of a consumer survey conducted by Pennsylvania State University.
• Demand, Supply and Trade: National and Northwest Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Sweet Corn, and Snap Beans, University of California and Oregon State University, 2004 -  Reviews principal trends during the past two decades in the national and Pacific Northwest markets for selected berries and vegetables. The authors looked at the sources and types of apparent shifts in U.S. supply and demand for these products, and the apparent effects of import competition on domestic production and prices.
  
• Market Development Strategies for Florida Fresh Sweet Corn: Findings from a Consumer Survey, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service, 2003.
• Processed Sweet Corn Situation and Outlook for Selected Countries, Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA, 2004 - Sweet corn demand and production report.
• Sweet Corn Marketing in New York – How Sweet is it?, Cornell University Economic Department.
• Sweet Corn, Vegetables, Potatoes, and Melons Harvested for Sale: 2007 and 2002, 2007 Census of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA, 2009.
• U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Outlook, National Food and Agriculture Policy Project (NFAPP), Arizona State University, 2009 - Production, consumption and price outlooks through 2018.
• U.S. Sweet Corn Statistics, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, 2008.

Processing/Manufacturing

• Grading Guide: Sweet Corn, Illustrated Guides to Grading Vegetables, Purdue University, 2006.
• Processing Sweet Corn, Vegetables and Melons Outlook, ERS, USDA, 2007.
• Sweet Corn: Recommendations for Maintaining Postharvest Quality, University of California, Davis, 2006.
• United States Standards for Grades of Sweet Corn, Ag Marketing Service, USDA, 1992. 

Production

• Bringing Organic Sweet Corn Back to Long Island, SARE Farmer Grant Profiles, 2008 - Eve and Chris Walbrecht from Garden of Eve Organic Farm experimented with pheromone trapping and fertilizers to grow organic corn.
• Corn, Integrated Pest Management guidelines, University of California, Davis.
• Enterprise Budget: Sweet Corn, Leopold Center, Iowa State University Extension and Beginning Farmer Center.
• Fresh-market Sweet Corn, Vegetables and Melons Outlook, ERS, USDA, 2005.
  
• Organic Sweet Corn, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, 2009.
• Organic Sweet Corn Production, North Carolina State University, 2005.
• Postharvest Handling Systems: Fruit Vegetables, Vegetable Research and Information Center, University of California Cooperative Extension.
• Sample Cost to Establish and Produce Sweet Corn, University of California Cooperative Extension, 2004.
• State Extension Sweet Corn Specialists, Purdue University.
  
• Sweet Corn, Midwest Vegetable Production Guide, Purdue University, 2007.
• Sweet Corn, Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers, University of Kentucky, 2006-07.
• Sweet Corn Disease Nursery, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – Comprehensive reports on sweet corn diseases. Photos of symptoms.
• Sweet Corn Fact Sheets, Vegetable MD Online, Cornell University.
  
• Sweet Corn: Organic Production, ATTRA, National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), 2008 - This publication discusses key aspects of producing organic sweet corn.
  
• Vegetables 2008 Summary, NASS, USDA, 2009.
• Vegetables and Melons Yearbook, ERS, USDA, 2009.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Fresh Supersweet Corn Council, Maitland, Florida - This website, funded by sweet corn growers and shippers in Florida and Georgia, promotes fresh sweet corn.
• Illinois Foundation Seeds Inc. - Provides links to sweet corn products and research.
• Sweet Corn Farmer Profiles, The New American Farmer, Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE), USDA - Describes four sweet corn operations in the United States.