River, Barrett, Ridge and Huxley Heiring of Mineral Point grow, weed, pick and sell sweet corn.
You know summer is pretty much spent when local sweet corn is for sale.
The Heiring boys, ages 11 to 6, spent summer growing Peaches and Cream sweet corn to sell.
After picking the fresh ears, they put up a tent and staff their stand near Aspen Ridge.
“We used to just do four rows and way less acreage but over the last few summers business has grown. So we have expanded, planted and grown more,” said the boys’ mother Teela Heiring. “We have the best of both worlds: a house on the outskirts of town and the farm outside Belmont.”
Their grandfather Tom Heiring plants the seed corn that the boys bought, in 12 rows on a half-acre.
They weed the field by hand, and the boys do most of the picking, sometimes with the help of their parents, Tim and Teela Heiring.
“It is family time in the field,” Teela Heiring said. “They all work together to move the baskets of corn, haul the corn in wagons and baskets to the car, and to load them up for selling. All of the boys have different roles: the pickers, the hauler, and the mover.”
They also sell tomatoes, peppers and broccoli that they helped grow. They just finished their fifth summer selling sweet corn.
“This is the first summer where all the boys are able to contribute more as they are all older in age than when they first started selling,” she said. They like meeting people and seeing and hearing positive reviews of their corn and customer service.
They also like earning money. They each take a little for spending money, but most goes to their bank accounts.
“As their parents, we couldn’t be more proud of the boys and all the hard work they put into the sweet corn stand,” Teela Heiring said. “Watching them work together, take pride in what they do, and learn the ins and outs of running a business has been so rewarding. They’re learning about hard work, responsibility, customer service, investing in a business, money management, and what it takes to build something of their own. Really, it is all mostly managed and run by them. Seeing them grow-not just as young men, but as young entrepreneurs-makes us incredibly proud.”
