In late May, Jason Turek, a partner in both King Ferry, NY-based Turek Farms, and its marketing arm, Cayuga Produce Inc., told The Produce News the company’s sweet corn crop on the Eastern Shore is coming along nicely.

The company partners with and handles sales for Magee Farms for its Eastern Shore crop of sweet corn.

“Despite the cold and wet spring, recent long warm days helped the crop catch up nicely,” said Turek. “It’s looking like a good crop in both volume and quality. We anticipate starting the first week of July, which is about normal.”

The company, which markets under the “Cayuga” brand, also teams with growers in Florida and Georgia who share its commitment to quality and food safety, enabling it to ship high quality produce to clients year round.

“Cayuga” produce, which includes a lengthy list of high-quality commodities, is distributed primarily on the East Coast and as far west as Texas. It occasionally is sold in England and Puerto Rico.

“These countries don’t produce sweet corn,” explained Turek. “At times they cannot source from elsewhere so they come to us. Overall, we have a great group of customers —some of which have been with us 30-plus years.”

“Cayuga” sweet corn is shipped year-round, and it is GMO-free, regardless of the growing region.

Turek shares partnership in Turek Farms and Cayuga Produce with his father, Frank Turek Jr., and uncle, David Turek. He is a fourth-generation family member in Turek Farms. Cayuga Produce was formed in 1969. It also boasts having a great staff, many of whom have been with the company for over 20 years.

“We are building a new ice plant in Kings Ferry,” Turek noted. “We hydro-cool all of our corn to get the heat out, but then we top it with ice. Previously we were sourcing out the icing process, but having our own ice plant will enable us to move into other products that require icing.”

Seed testing is a company hallmark. Turek said it works with all the major seed companies and does hundreds of tests every year.

“Of them all, we pick one or two to produce,” he explained. “We look for taste, ear length, husk color and flag leafs, but taste is most important. We then use the new seed at all our production areas.

“It’s also important to understand the different overall growing conditions in each area. What works in New York may not work as well in a different region,”