Maze of maize takes shape

Bloomfield farmers promoting agritourism by building corn maze west of Gentry

An aerial photograph of the Bloomfield Corn Maze on Friday reveals some of its sponsors' names. The 10-acre corn maze is scheduled to open to the public on Sept. 16 and remain open through Nov. 6. A pumpkin patch, tractor rides and hay rides are also planned.
An aerial photograph of the Bloomfield Corn Maze on Friday reveals some of its sponsors' names. The 10-acre corn maze is scheduled to open to the public on Sept. 16 and remain open through Nov. 6. A pumpkin patch, tractor rides and hay rides are also planned.

— It’s more than 100 degrees in the shade and a handful of people are spending their afternoons in a stifling cornfield, mapping out a maze with global positioning and cutting paths in the 10-acre plot with a riding lawn mower. Why? To promote agritourism in northwest Arkansas and the Gentry area.

That’s what was happening July 12 and 13 on a farm plot west of Gentry. With corn stalks reaching up more than 7 feet across much of the field, Dharmendra Saraswat, associate professor and extension engineer for the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, was using a global positioning device to guide and teach a team to plot and cut walking paths in the field for a corn maze toopen there this fall.

The Bloomfield Corn Maze is a joint venture of Jeff Hickson, Carlette Anderson, Lashay Hartley, Spencer Puryear and landowner Dwindel Silcox. Saraswat and Deano Traywick, geospatial technician with the University, came out to use specialized GPS technology tomark out and cut the maze into the field.

Saraswat was teaching Hartley and Puryear to use the GPS device so that they could do themapping and cutting in future years. Normally, the corn would be cut when it is about a third as high as it was last week, Saraswat said. Cutting was more difficult in the tall corn because it was hard to see where the paths were being marked for cutting.

Plans are to open the Bloomfield Corn Maze on Sept. 16and keep it open until Nov. 6, Anderson said. In addition to the maze itself, there are plansfor hay rides, a pumpkin patch, a corn cannon, pony rides, and tractor rides from the Tired Iron of the Ozarks.

“The focus is on agriculture,” said Hickson of the new limited liability company's project. “It’s all about promoting agritourism in the area,” he said.

A website to promote the maize maze is being built at www.bloomfieldcornmaze.com. The site will include information about the maze itself, planned events and activities, and links to the project’s sponsors.

Current sponsors for the new agritourism venture include Decatur Livestock Auction; Fontanelle, which provided seed for the corn plot; Cripps Law Firm; The Cornerstone Bank; Powell Feed and Milling Company; Farm Credit; and Countryside Farm and Lawn Equipment Co., a John Deere dealer. Other sponsors areyet being sought for the venture.

Corn mazes have become increasingly popular across the country and often draw large crowds of visitors. In addition to promoting agriculture, profits from the mazes and related activities can sometimes help make the difference for smaller family-run farms.

News, Pages 1 on 07/27/2011