BRODHEAD - For 178 years the Ten Eyck family has operated its farm outside of Brodhead. Now known as Ten Eyck Orchard, the farm is in its sixth generation of raising apples, and the orchard added a corn maze in 2016.
"We just thought it would be fun," said Drew Ten Eyck, the sixth-generation farmer. "The field is already 100 feet from our building, so it seemed like a no-brainer."
This is the second year Ten Eyck has offered its visitors a corn maze. It had a good turnout last year and has had about the same this year, in spite of poor weather, according to the family. They've had multiple repeat customers.
"We just thought, 'we've got the corn, we might as well take advantage of it,'" said Opal John, who has worked at Ten Eyck for about 17 years.
John noticed corn mazes seemed to have growing popularity. Ten Eyck has the closest corn maze in the area, the next closest being at Sutter's Ridge Farm in Mount Horeb and Skelly's Farm Market in Janesville.
The 6-acre maze changed its design this fall and features the Ten Eyck logo. John said it typically takes people about 20 to 40 minutes to complete.
"We'll try to do something different every year," Ten Eyck said about the design, adding that the family is planning to keep the maze a mainstay for the foreseeable future. "I definitely think we'll do it a couple more years and then see where we're at."
Schools, 4-H clubs and various scouts have taken trips to the maze, though families tend to still be the main visitors.
"It's good for the community to have this around. It's a lot of fun. A lot of kids will go running into the maze and get through it pretty quickly and then smile and wait for their parents to get out," Ten Eyck said.
Joni Swift with her adult son and daughter, Jonah and Mikaela, decided to trek through the corn maze Thursday while Ten Eyck's dog, Nugget, tagged along with an ear of corn in his mouth. The Swifts live in Peoria, Arizona, and were in the area visiting family. Joni is originally from Rockford and had heard about the orchard from her brothers.
The Swifts navigated through the maze for about 20 minutes and as they approached the exit, were disappointed to find it was where they had originally entered and not the designated exit.
"It was so easy, I could have done it with my eyes closed," Jonah quipped.
It was the first corn maze Mikaela had been to.
"I thought I'd be better at it," she said.
Ten Eyck said that his attraction brings in a lot of customers from the air as well.
"We're right next to the (Brodhead) airport, so a lot of pilots fly around to look at it and then come down," he said.
One of the biggest factors affecting the orchard is the weather. Though Wisconsin is known for its somewhat unpredictable weather, the extremes of the past few years have become more and more noticeable at the orchard.
"The weather in the spring really matters. This year there was the tornado by Monroe, but on that day, we had a small hail storm and that really hurt us. We're still OK, but it certainly made a difference," Ten Eyck said of crop production.
Apples at the orchard are for sale from August until mid-November. Pears, pumpkins, squash, cider, apple butter, honey and baked goods are also available. Maze-goers get a free apple after they complete the course. The orchard, on Wisconsin 11/81, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and has stands at various farmers markets.
- Marissa Weiher contributed to this story.
"We just thought it would be fun," said Drew Ten Eyck, the sixth-generation farmer. "The field is already 100 feet from our building, so it seemed like a no-brainer."
This is the second year Ten Eyck has offered its visitors a corn maze. It had a good turnout last year and has had about the same this year, in spite of poor weather, according to the family. They've had multiple repeat customers.
"We just thought, 'we've got the corn, we might as well take advantage of it,'" said Opal John, who has worked at Ten Eyck for about 17 years.
John noticed corn mazes seemed to have growing popularity. Ten Eyck has the closest corn maze in the area, the next closest being at Sutter's Ridge Farm in Mount Horeb and Skelly's Farm Market in Janesville.
The 6-acre maze changed its design this fall and features the Ten Eyck logo. John said it typically takes people about 20 to 40 minutes to complete.
"We'll try to do something different every year," Ten Eyck said about the design, adding that the family is planning to keep the maze a mainstay for the foreseeable future. "I definitely think we'll do it a couple more years and then see where we're at."
Schools, 4-H clubs and various scouts have taken trips to the maze, though families tend to still be the main visitors.
"It's good for the community to have this around. It's a lot of fun. A lot of kids will go running into the maze and get through it pretty quickly and then smile and wait for their parents to get out," Ten Eyck said.
Joni Swift with her adult son and daughter, Jonah and Mikaela, decided to trek through the corn maze Thursday while Ten Eyck's dog, Nugget, tagged along with an ear of corn in his mouth. The Swifts live in Peoria, Arizona, and were in the area visiting family. Joni is originally from Rockford and had heard about the orchard from her brothers.
The Swifts navigated through the maze for about 20 minutes and as they approached the exit, were disappointed to find it was where they had originally entered and not the designated exit.
"It was so easy, I could have done it with my eyes closed," Jonah quipped.
It was the first corn maze Mikaela had been to.
"I thought I'd be better at it," she said.
Ten Eyck said that his attraction brings in a lot of customers from the air as well.
"We're right next to the (Brodhead) airport, so a lot of pilots fly around to look at it and then come down," he said.
One of the biggest factors affecting the orchard is the weather. Though Wisconsin is known for its somewhat unpredictable weather, the extremes of the past few years have become more and more noticeable at the orchard.
"The weather in the spring really matters. This year there was the tornado by Monroe, but on that day, we had a small hail storm and that really hurt us. We're still OK, but it certainly made a difference," Ten Eyck said of crop production.
Apples at the orchard are for sale from August until mid-November. Pears, pumpkins, squash, cider, apple butter, honey and baked goods are also available. Maze-goers get a free apple after they complete the course. The orchard, on Wisconsin 11/81, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and has stands at various farmers markets.
- Marissa Weiher contributed to this story.