It may sound corny, but it really isn't easy being green - and white and gold.
It takes time and hard work and paying attention to every little detail to grow the kind of sweet corn Harward Farms is selling by the baker's dozen all over Utah County.Just ask Jud Harward and his two sons, Lenny and Jake.
They've been growing the locally famous and highly prized corn for a decade now. They feel they've finally got it right. The corn is sweet and juicy with a distinctive mix of plump white and gold kernels.
"We started out with two acres as a little project for the kids. It's turned out to be a big project," said Harward.
Harward Farms expects to sell 100,000 dozen ears out of its 14 stands this year.
(A picture of Jud Harward was mistakenly run Monday with a story about Provo resident Marv Harward, and the headline may have given the impression that Jud Harward's corn stands were closing. In fact, they remain open and business is booming.)
The family business started with a stand "out of the back of a pickup truck" in Spanish Fork followed by a couple more two years later in Springville.
Later came the stand in Provo on University Avenue that was most folks' sole source of Harward corn for years.
Harward expanded this summer, including more stands and more produce. They now sell their farm-grown tomatoes as well as Green River melons and cantaloupes from Dean King.
Harward said he wants to be the housewife's answer to "what's for dinner?"
"This year, we've had such a good production and yield, we're surprising ourselves," said Harward. "We're selling all we can produce. Word of mouth is our best advertisement."
They sell their produce in American Fork, Payson, Orem, Provo, Spanish Fork, Springville, Alpine and just about every other local community in roadside stands that are by design reminiscent of the old-style farmer's produce markets.
The corn is always fresh because the Harwards plant their 125 acres in rotation, timing the 12 plantings to produce newly ripened corn all through the summer months.
They practically have to use a computer to keep track of which area needs what at a given time.
"You have to get right in and live with it," said Harward. "People don't realize the kind of work it takes to do this. It's labor-intensive."
Harward grows a sugar-enticer sweet corn known as Ambrosia corn that's been genetically created. When geneticists developed the sweeter corn, some of the vigor and vitality were lost.
As a result, Ambrosia is more fragile and difficult to grow, said Harward. Some of his neighbors have tried to duplicate his crop and been frustrated.
"Everything has to be managed in detail. You need the right tools, the right amount of water, the right amount of fertilization at the proper time."
He's extremely careful with pesticides and has found a healthy ear of corn is the best bug discouragement.
"The production end has been a real challenge. We've had more failures than successes," said Harward.
"But we're there now."
He recognizes the value of effective marketing as well and has worked carefully at making sure his sales people are friendly and informed. "You won't see a chair, a book, a radio or a girlfriend at our stands. When they're there, you're getting waited on," said Harward. Stand managers share in a percentage of the sales so they have a stake in the operation.
He and his sons have designed the stands so they all look alike and positioned them where drive-by customers have easy access to the produce from trailer beds full of sweet corn.
He wants people to find a delicious piece of bicolor corn on their dinner plate and immediately know it's Harward Farms corn.
He keeps the price at $3.25 a dozen and isn't worried when local grocers try to undercut and outsell him. "We don't fight with price. We fight with service and quality. There's none of this yo-yo effect.
"We're in the business of creating the demand."