Sep 14, 2007

Market Appeals to Visitors of All Ages

Kuipers Family Farm had no problem attracting families with young children, but older families with teenagers weren’t showing as much interest. Corn mazes and hayrides are for little kids, after all.

To appeal to that older age group, the Maple Park, Ill., farm added a 5-acre corn maze last year. The new maze was more of a challenge: 2 miles of twists and turns, guides in the form of barnyard characters and puzzles that need to be solved. It wasn’t designed with little kids in mind, said Kim Kuipers, who runs the farm with her husband, Wade.

“It’s geared toward older kids,” she said. “That’s an aspect of the family we were kind of missing out on.”

The maze did well in its first year, but would have done better if the weather had cooperated. A couple weekends were completely rained out, Kim said.

Kuipers Family Farm is a u-pick apple, pumpkin and Christmas tree farm about 50 miles west of Chicago. Visitors from the city’s suburbs can buy jams, jellies and apple cider at the farm’s two gift shops or pies, fudge and doughnuts at the bakery. There’s also Scarecrow Acres, which offers hay rides, pony rides, a haunted forest, straw mountain, pedal tractor derby, nature walk, petting corral and more. If they’re hungry, there’s always the Corncrib Café, according to the farm’s Web site, www.kuipersfamilyfarm.com.

With all their farm marketing expertise, it’s hard to believe the Kuipers started in concrete. Wade, who grew up on a produce farm, went into construction. Eventually, he and his wife decided there had to be a better way to make a living than owning a concrete company, so they decided to buy their own pumpkin patch. For a few years, the patch was a weekend hobby, but when the neighbors across the street offered to sell their orchard, the Kuipers couldn’t turn down the deal. They decided to sell the construction company and become full-time farm marketers, Kim said.

They’re now in their sixth season as a full-time operation, and they’re finally starting to slow down after years of tremendous growth. This will be the first year they haven’t unveiled a new activity or event since they started. Instead, they’re focusing on improving the farm’s infrastructure, Kim said.

“We can breathe this year.”

Customers want to see something new every year, which requires a constant flow of new ideas. The Kuipers get a lot of their ideas on farm tours, especially those of the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association. Their farm will be a NAFDMA tour stop next year, Kim said.

The farm has more than 220 acres of apples, pumpkins and Christmas trees. The apple orchard is on one side of the road; the shops, bakery and pumpkin patch on the other side. There are six full-time employees but up to 80 workers when the farm is in full gear every October. The Kuipers’ three children, between the ages of 9 and 15, help out on the farm, but it’s too early to tell if they’ll want to take over one day, Kim said.

Customers pick apples from the first weekend in September through the end of October. There are more than 20 varieties, but Honeycrisp is by far the most popular. They have to bring apples in from Michigan to satisfy the demand, she said.

The pumpkin patch is open from mid-September to late October. The Christmas tree harvest starts the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas trees allow the farm to extend its season, but a few years ago the Kuipers weren’t sure they would keep planting because the industry seemed to be dying. Sales have picked up in the last year or two, however, so the Kuipers will continue to plant trees and keep their fingers crossed, Kim said.