Farmer Fred DePalma in Salem County began harvesting what's believed to be the first crop of the 2016 season.
PENNSVILLE TWP. -- It's not easy being first.
Just ask Fred DePalma.
This year he had to battle Mother Nature and hungry critters, but he's accomplished his mission -- bringing what's believed to be the first local sweet corn of the 2016 season to market in New Jersey.
"Between the weather and the animals I have a little bit left," DePalma joked Saturday morning after after delivering several bushels of fresh corn from his field to his farm market in Salem County.
DePalma and his wife, Bobbie, have owned the Pennsville Farm Market on North Broadway for about 30 years.
It has just been in the past 10 years, though, that DePalma really got serious about being the first in the area to bring local Jersey sweet corn to market.
The earliest he's had corn to sell was on June 2 a few years back.
"All the conditions were right," he said.
No so this year.
It's all a gamble when trying to beat Mother Nature.
DePalma started his first corn seedlings this year in his greenhouse on Feb. 26. In March they were transplanted to a field and covered with plastic to form a mini-greenhouse to hold in the heat and promote growth.
Weather was favorable until the April freeze when temperatures dropped into the low 20s at DePalma farm.
The freeze caused DePalma to totally lose two of the earliest blocks of corn he had planted.
"It's something you know is going to happen and then it happens to you."
Add on the wild corn lovers -- deer, groundhogs and raccoons -- which have destroyed the corn that didn't get zapped by the cold.
"This was the worst," DePalma said of his experience this year.
Growing outlook better
A cold, wet spring and then a hard freeze in April hurt some farmers trying to get an early jump on the season, including DePalma.
But the abnormal weather isn't expected to be a setback for most popular New Jersey crops, according to a state Department of Agriculture official.
"Overall, it's going to be a great year," said Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Al Murray. "New Jersey's strength is we produce over 1,000 varieties of fruits and vegetables."
He noted, however, because of the late freeze some farmers, especially in the northern parts of the state, were forced to replant some crops.
Also, fruit trees took a hit from the cold. In areas above Interstate 195, most of the apple crop was lost, Murray said.
Keeping the 'garden' in the Garden State
"As for peaches in the southern parts of the state, they did get impacted, but we won't know the extent until we start picking," he said.
One "silver lining" is the cold helped to thin some fruit crops saving farmers the labor and expense of doing that themselves this year.
"The growers might not get a bumper crop, but it's shouldn't be bad," according to Murray.
The cold, weeks early in the season may have slowed some warm weather crops like tomatoes and peppers, but crops like lettuces and greens did well in those conditions.
"Something is going to like it (the cooler, wet weather) and something is not," Murray said.
The growing season is just a few days behind and with a few warm days, most crops will catch up to where they should be this time of year, according to Murray.
Agriculture remains a multi-billion dollar industry in New Jersey. In 2015, the state's farmers grew $52.2 million pounds of sweet corn valued at $16.8 million, according to the NJDA.
Some things, Murray said, are already on schedule such as the blueberry harvest which began in the Hammonton area more than a week ago.
Crops like cucumbers, pickles and zucchini are now in as the asparagus and strawberry harvest ends in the southern part of the state.
As far as sweet corn, though, Murray said on Friday he hadn't yet heard of anyone else in New Jersey brining it to market except DePalma.
Gamble again pays off
On Wednesday, all the hard work and heartache DePalma has experienced this year began paying off.
The huge red letters spelling out "NJ CORN" were posted on the sign out front of his market and the first ears of local corn went on sale.
DePalma says generally he picks abut 1,000 to 1,500 ears a day. Because of the damage to his early crop, only about 600 ears were being harvested these first few days of this season.
He only grows white corn. DePalma said in central New Jersey customers seem to like the bi-colored and in North Jersey they prefer yellow. In the south, however, white is the preference, he said.
These first ears of this early, supersweet variety corn are smaller that those that will come later in the season, but that Jersey corn taste is there.
Other Salem County farmers raising sweet corn say they expect to begin harvesting in about a week or so.
One grower even hinted that they might visit DePalma's market to pick up a few ears as they wait on their crop to mature.
Despite DePalma's troubles with his early crop, the story has again had a happy ending for consumers.
Jersey corn is here.
Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.