EAST MEAD TOWNSHIP — “This is what we need,” said Paul Miller, basking in the bright sunshine and warm temperatures as he looked out over his corn crop.

“The end of May and the first few days of June were cold and wet and didn’t help us,” he said.

“It had been a really challenging start to the season,” said Joel Hunter, an agronomist with the Crawford County Extension Office.

The cool, wet spring had put corn across Pennsylvania about two weeks behind in maturity, though the recent warm, dry weather is helping tremendously, according to Hunter.

“Corn can compensate and will grow faster when it gets the right conditions,” he said.

Overall the corn crop is doing well both here and across Pennsylvania, though some areas south of Interstate 80 are drier than normal.

The first corn of the season is already being picked at the Miller family’s East Mead Township farm — something Paul always is glad to see, but wishes it would happen just a bit sooner.

“We always shoot for July 4, but never quite make it,” he said with a wry smile. “This year, we picked the first corn July 11.”

Mason Farms in Erie County got its first local corn to market ahead of Miller’s by more than a week.

“They beat us by 10 days,” he said. “They’re close to the lake (Erie)

so they can plant sooner (due to the warmth of the lake).”

Paul and his brother, Steven, plant about 10 to 12 acres of sweet corn each year. They begin planting an early maturing variety of corn about mid-April each year and help it grow by covering it the first few weeks.

They lay insulated tarps over the first plantings that allow the corn to get sunlight and moisture but retain heat, allowing the plants to grow, Miller said. Those tarps are removed once the plants reach about 6 inches in height.

Also, the Millers plant different varieties so they have corn maturing throughout the season.

“We plant a 62-day corn to an 89-day corn,” Miller said. “The 62-day corn is coming in now. Its plants are not as tall as what most people are used to seeing.”