A frequent presence along roadsides during Windsor-Essex summers will soon end.
Lafferty's Gourmet Sweet Corn, whose corn has drawn countless drivers to its roadside stands across the region since 1976, announced it will retire from corn production and return to its farming roots.
"It is with great pride that we announce our retirement from serving Windsor and Essex County our famous sweet corn," read a release on social media from Lafferty Farms. "After 49 rewarding years, our family made the decision to return to our roots of exclusive cash crop farming."
The supply of sweet corn to area grocery stores will also end.
The statement went on to thank its customers for their loyalty.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire community for your unwavering support, which made our sweet corn business such a success," it continued. "Many thanks to our wholesale customers. A sincere thank you as well to the countless local students and seasonal staff from Mexico for their hard work and dedication throughout the years. We could not have done it without you."
Aside from the popular sweet corn, the Lafferty family has been active for years in the community, providing summer jobs to numerous Windsor-Essex students, and contributing to food banks and programs such as Unemployed Help Centre's Plentiful Harvest Food Rescue Program.
In the fall of 2020, the Laffertys donated $50,000 to the Windsor Regional Hospital Foundation to support the new acute-care hospital project. One of the family's corn stands was located at the corner of the 9th Concession and County Road 42, the site of the new hospital.