The leaves have begun turning, and calendars flipped to October, signifying the heart of Fall. Halloween is just around the corner and people are looking to spend time outside in arguably one of the best times of year. One of the best ways to do this is by going to one of the pumpkin patches in the Springfield area. Few things illustrate the heartbeat of Fall better than pumpkins, apple cider, and corn mazes.
Agritourism is a continuously growing sector in the American economy and is defined as agricultural production in a manner that welcomes visitors in for the purposes of education and entertainment. Nationwide, common agritourism venues include vineyards, apple orchards, sunflower fields, petting zoos, Christmas trees farms and pumpkin patches. Bomke’s Patch located on Country Lake road near Farmingdale does a good job providing a mix of activities for families and visitors of all ages. Jess Podany, general manager and a partner in Bomke’s Patch, explained some of the boom in the agritourism industry, particularly in the Springfield area. Starting the Christmas tree farm in 2009 and planting its first pumpkins in 2011, Bomke’s Patch has experienced some of this growth. Podany says, “We didn't expect it to take off quite like it did, it filled a spot people were looking for.
Millennials and people are now more concerned with where their food comes from.” This is something that has been observed nationwide by the USDA with $310 million in growth from agritourism between 2017 and 2022. Today, agritourism is a $4.5 billion industry across over 28,000 farms and ranches. The benefits are twofold to producers by being able to educate the general public on food production while also providing an alternate source of income to traditional farming.
Bomke’s Patch hosts a corn maze, petting zoo, retail barn, play area, and pumpkin patch in the Fall, providing value to visitors by allowing them to do a number of activities at one place. Additionally, it offers the opportunity to personally harvest a pumpkin to take home for carving and decorating, a favorite pastime for many in October. According to Podany, pumpkins are planted in early to mid June and feature 80 to 135 day varieties. These varieties mature after the number of days the variety is specified for allowing the Patch to spread ripening of its pumpkins across the entire month of October with some leeway in either direction in the event of abnormal weather conditions. Pumpkin production is not the only thing that must be planned to offer the full agritourism experience. The corn maze is an additional staple this time of year, with designs that change annually. For anyone who has ever gone through a corn maze and wondered how they’re created, Podony explained the secret to those designs. Traditionally, a mower went through the field and cut the path for visitors to find their way around. With improvements in technology however, GPS mowers and other vehicles were utilized. More recently, where corn planters have utilized the GPS on the tractor cab to shut off individual rows to accurately plant the main portion of the field and stop planting in areas intended for maze walkers. Technology created for agriculture has changed the landscape of food production tremendously and is now working its way into agritourism, turfgrass, and other sectors of the market. Bomke’s Patch utilizes a number of tools such as this to provide the best experience they can to their visitors in the Fall season across all aspects of the farm.
For Information on Agritourism in the U.S. or Bomke’s Patch, follow the links below;