Cutting path for fun
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on October 8, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
J.R. Odom uses a machete to cut through corn during the beginning stage of creating the Odom Farming Co.'s fifth annual maze. The company uses a low-technology method where all the measuring and cutting are done by hand.
There is only one way in. And only one way out.
But getting lost is part of the fun.
Odom Farms opened its annual corn maze this Saturday as part of Fall on the Farm.
They also offer hay rides, pumpkin picking and pumpkin' chuckin' -- a giant slingshot that sends small pumpkins airborne before exploding on the field. Guests can also book a bonfire. Closer to Halloween, they host a haunted corn maze at night.
J.R. and his cousin, Alvin Odom, spend a weekend each fall measuring the field and hacking down the stalks to create the corn maze.
The chest-high corn was cut with a machete.
Originally, carving the corn maze by hand was done to save money.
Now it's a bit of a tradition.
"We have a lot of fun with it," Emily says. "All those kids who think you'll never use your algebra again, you might just be cutting a corn maze by hand."
Other farmers carve their corn mazes with automatic mowers.
"I'm a hands-on kind of guy," J.R. says.
Carving by hand allows him to have more control over the process.
It all starts from Emily's hand-drawn design. She usually themes them around agriculture. This year's maze shows a pumpkin and a strawberry along with #OFC.
The maze is then mapped out on a grid system. A rope strung across the field, connecting a tractor to a Gator, to let the men know where they should be cutting.
J.R. calls it his Gator Positioning System, or GPS.
The whole process takes eight hours, usually spread out between two days.
"You do it and you don't know what it looks like," he says.
The first time the Odoms saw their maze from above was after Google Earth took an aerial photo of their field.
They were amazed by the results.
Five years ago, Emily hadn't even been to a corn maze. She just knew other strawberry farmers were doing fall activities, so they decided to give it a shot, thinking "what's the worst that can happen?"
Now J.R. and Emily are old pros.
Last year more than 2,500 people came to celebrate fall on the farm.
"The kids just get in there and run," she says. "They either have an innate sense of direction or just find the dead ends faster."
Although the corn is still only chest-level -- it will be taller before the first frost -- having the shorter corn doesn't give guests any advantage.
"The maze is complicated enough," J.R. laughs.
In the past, Emily has had to go in and fish a few people out of the maze when they goet too lost. She makes sure to learn the maze herself before leading field trips.
"It's just fun," Emily says. "Strawberries are just a lot of work, but this is fun."
She enjoys seeing families come back year after year and seeing how the kids have grown.
But they also strive to educate their guests.
"We're a working farm, not an amusement park," J.R. says.
Emily says they want to step in and fill the role of educating people of where their food comes from.
They are growing pumpkins on the vine to demonstrate the blooms and process, but have brought pumpkins in from the mountains for carving. J.R. explains that the cooler climate makes mountain pumpkins prettier and they tend to have a better shape.
The farm is run by third generation farmers. J.R. and Emily own the farm, but the whole family helps out.
During the summer, Odom Farm Co. offers a 20-week CSA program. They also have spring strawberry picking.
"We are a family farm, but we want to be your family farm," Emily says.