![]() ![]() A professional maze designer is typically employed by the farm for servicing the maze. However, such an endeavor is not without sizeable risks and expenses, as corn mazes can often require hefty investments. The more time they spend here, the more money we make in our fields and at our stands.” It becomes an educational experience for them, which ultimately attracts more interest in our farm. With the corn maze, we draw city kids from Boston who have never seen a salamander before. Since introducing the local public to its sizeable corn maze, the farm stands and picking fields (berries and pumpkins) have performed at a higher rate. ![]() Adding to the dramatic spike in seasonal revenue, Billingsgate also added full concession stands to accompany its corn mazes, transforming it into a family-fun atmosphere. ![]() When the corn maze spawned overnight success, the Readings opted to add a miniature corn maze for younger children, this one boasting a Jack and the Beanstalk theme. We had more people coming here than ever before.” But once we opened ours, it made a huge difference with profits. We were latecomers other farms in the area had already been running mazes. “So we had to come up with a way to draw people back to our farm. “Once the summer dies down, business drops,” said Lynn. Hence, three years ago, Billingsgate jumped aboard the maze craze with its popular new attraction, spanned intricately across three and a half acres of corn husks. Situated on the south shore of Massachusetts, a handful of conventional, non-organic farms within the vicinity were opening corn mazes every August through November. The husband-wife team of Peter and Lynn Reading were facing an identical predicament as cross-coastal Bella Farm. Likewise, the operators of sustainable Billingsgate Farm have tasted similar success. But the corn maze is what reels them in.” I’ve seen people come here and end up carting out six or seven pumpkins at a time. We run the maze in conjunction with our pumpkin patch - and that’s where we really clean up. Once we get folks to come out, they end up spending an entire day here and purchasing many of the other things that we offer. “Rather, the purpose of the corn maze is to simply lure people to the farm. “We make a little bit of money from the admission prices, but not a great deal,” said Kondilis-Hashem. Today, visitors come in droves from the greater Portland region and beyond to lose themselves in the farm’s green-cropped labyrinths, a fun fall diversion from football and leaf-raking.Īlthough farms typically charge between $10 and $20 per visitor for a two-to three-hour meander through the pathways, the maze itself has not been the primary moneymaker in the case of many organic and sustainable farms. “We realized we were one of the only farms in the Portland area not doing one.”īut once the owners of Bella Organic built it - amid the steamy summer of 2010 - the premonition soon rang true. “(Conventional) farms were all offering corn mazes - an attraction for drawing in crowds to their businesses,” he said. ![]()
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