Apples and Pumpkins and Corn Mazes, Oh My

October is the PERFECT month to pull on your boots and grab a cute plaid scarf and head to a local apple orchard, pumpkin patch or corn maze. Picking out the perfect pumpkin, enjoying a seasonal treat (check below for some of our favorite fall recipes), and getting lost among the corn stalks are just some of the fun farm activities that are happening right now.

We love that many of these destinations are on farms! Agritourism is at its absolute best in the fall.

Fall is also a busy time of the year on grain farms, like ours. This is the time of year we harvest the corn and soybeans in our fields. Unlike pumpkin patches and apple orchards, it’s not always easy to visit a farm like ours, but sometimes you get lucky and you might see a combine in the field on your way to have some fun on the farm.

Or if you are really lucky, the pumpkin patch, corn maze or apple orchard you are visiting is ON a farm that raises corn and soybeans too!

Table of Contents

What is Agritourism?

What is agritourism? It’s basically any activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. One reason why we love agritourism is that all sizes and kinds of farms host events all year long so you can see many kinds of farming if you are interested. It is also a wonderful way for farmers to share what happens on the farm with others!

Many farms in Indiana – where we live – turn to agritourism when thinking about bringing another family member back to the farm. Often times, it’s a way for farm families to grow their business (farms are businesses, right?) without having to add a lot of extra land, buildings or equipment.

Photo by Stacy Walker of The Backroad Life

Want to find a farm that is open to the public near you? Visit your state’s tourism website, many have a page dedicated to agritourism. Indiana’s website boasts 155 locations open to the public!

Where is Your Pumpkin Grown?

Want to know something else really cool about those pumpkin patches and apple orchards? Sometimes the same farmer who runs them also supplies the pumpkins and apples to your local grocery store! In fact, Indiana – where we live and farm – is one of the largest producers of pumpkins and many of the farms that grow pumpkins also grow other crops – like corn and soybeans.

Whether they grow pumpkins to sell on the farm or to ship to grocery stores from Nebraska to Maine, like they do at Howell Farms, many of these farmers open their farms to the public each fall in some form or fashion. So be on the lookout for an opportunity to visit, ask them questions and hopefully bring home a pumpkin or two!