More P.E.I. growers picking corn as a 'win-win' crop 

Fields of corn have become a more common sight across Prince Edward Island over the last 10 years, as more farmers choose to grow it as a cash crop. 

"Typically corn was grown on P.E.I. as silage for the dairy industry," said Neil Campbell, manager of the P.E.I. Grain Elevator Corporation.

"We've got better varieties, maybe a warmer fall, so we don't get hit with frost as early. It's probably changing some of the direction on why corn acres are increasing."

There are 23,500 insured acres of corn this year, according to the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture. That number includes grain, high-moisture, and silage corn. 

A spokesperson for the department said the number of insured acres has grown significantly over the years, and the total is even higher because it doesn't take uninsured acres into account.

Grain corn is made when kernels are taken off stalks during the harvest, then dried to about 15 per cent moisture and used as feed for livestock. That's different from silage corn — which is chopped and fed to cows — and sweet corn, which is what humans consume. 

Campbell said a lot of P.E.I.'s grain corn will be sold to feed mills, and poultry and dairy farms off-Island.

He said growers are also choosing corn because it makes sense in their crop rotation.

"As some of the farms would get bigger, they might need more corn," Campbell said. 

"I see corn being part of our rotation here going forward here in P.E.I.  Acres will go up and down based on economics and agronomy and rotation concerns, but I think it's here to stay."

'There's a dollar to be made'

Ryan Hamill, of Hamill Brothers Farm in Middleton, said he's growing more corn than ever this season. His farm grew by around 30 acres in 2013, and includes 350 acres of corn this year. 

"Corn acreage the last number of years has gone up, for sure. It's steadily climbing year over year," Hamill said.

"There's a dollar to be made in it, which is always good."

He said corn has additional benefits for soil health and disease prevention because it's naturally protected against some pests like wireworm. 

"It's just it's win-win in a lot of ways," Hamill said. 

Growers making big investments

Hamill has just invested in a dryer and wet tank to dry corn, soybeans and wheat. 

"We looked at it for a lot of years before we invested in it because it's a big capital expenditure," he said.

"But.... You can't market wet corn or wet soybeans or wet grains. So this allows us to take it here, dry it to the specs in which we can sell it, and then we can move it out at our discretion."

He said more growers across the province are following suit and purchasing dryers.

"Before, you're at the mercy of the market at harvest, which is never usually optimal," Hamill said. "This just gives us a little bit more power ... and more options, and more options are always good."

Hamill said the 2024 growing season has been "fantastic." 

"We've had a lot of heat, maybe a little bit less rain than we would have wanted in August, but the corn and soybeans are at least two weeks ahead of schedule, which is great," Hamill said. 

"If you don't harvest until the middle of October, then it's drying down every day, and that saves propane, which in a year where prices are a little bit low, every cent that you can save by drying naturally is a win."