10/15/08 Corn Maze

How are you going to get them back down on the farm? Apparently this time of year all it takes is a corn maze. With fall celebrations and the coming of Halloween, corn mazes are popping up around the country and visitors are flocking to them in droves. For many farmers the income from corn mazes adds up to almost half of their yearly farm income and is actually a key factor in keeping children on the family farm. While visitors are entertained trying to find their way through and out of the winding corn mazes, treated to traditional hay rides, and warmed with hot apple cider, they are often times also treated to an educational tour of the family farm, learning about the impact that farming has on everyone's daily lives. All in all, corn mazes offer communities the ultimate family outing; fun and learning all rolled into one. And the corn mazes keep on giving, long after the visitors have moved on. Farmers will generally harvest the corn left in the mazes and in turn use it to feed livestock, or for use in biofuels production.