LABOR DAY: A-mazing autumn agritourism
This year, the family used a “smart planter,” and what a difference it made. A new video shows how the Daltons worked with their county extension office and local equipment distributors to create a very special maze for 2023.
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Sept. 1, 2023
Fast facts
- New tech helps build an old favorite for family fun
- Agritourism valued at $950M nationwide
(270 words)
(Newsrooms: with video)
PIGGOTT, Ark. — One of the oldest agritourism attractions in Arkansas has used some of the newest technology to make a bit of fall family fun: a corn maze.
Pumpkin Hollow Farm in Piggott is owned and operated by the Dalton Family.
“One of the first corn mazes we ever did, we actually did on graph paper,” said co-owner Ellen Dalton. “And we used rolling wheels, measuring wheels and we measured and flagged and ribboned every inch of the corn maze.”
It took two people a week to cut the maze, she said.
However, this year, the family used a “smart planter,” and what a difference it made.
A new video shows how the Daltons worked with their county extension office and local equipment distributors to create a very special maze for 2023.
Whether a corn maze, pumpkin patch or a wine tasting, there are plenty of autumn agritourism opportunities in Arkansas.
Agritourism has become increasingly popular among farmers as a means to diversify income.
The Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture says farm agritourism revenue more than tripled between 2002 and 2017, according to data from the Census of Agriculture.
Adjusted for inflation, agritourism revenue grew from $704 million in 2012 to almost $950 million in 2017. The 2017 data excluded wineries, although they were included in the 2002, 2007, and 2012 data, which suggests agritourism revenue growth may have been even greater during that period. However, agritourism revenue is still small relative to total farm revenue, accounting for 5.6 percent of farm-related income in 2017.
Landowners and farmers can learn more about whether agritourism might be a fit.
The Cooperative Extension Service is the land grant outreach arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension
Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division
of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture,
visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen
agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption
of best practices. The Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work
within the nation’s historic land grant education system through the Agricultural
Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas
System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension
and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex,
gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital
or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and
is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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