When it comes to creating a corn maze, one can envision a stack of white paper, a pencil-eraser and a ruler. But Jefferies Seeds made their first corn maze this summer and, once the ball got rolling it was easier than you might think.
Riley Jefferies found a simpler solution by using technology to create the 10-acre corn maze just west of the town of Glenboro.
Ron Jefferies says his son, Riley, planted the 10-acre corn maze with all the paths incorporated into the plan quite easily using GPS. He adds there were a few wrinkles at the start, but once the tractor’s GPS system and the seeder were synced it worked beautifully.
“He designed the maze on a computer program and then transferred it right onto a computer program for his John Deere planter, and it literally shut the seed off where the maze walking path was,” explains Ron Jefferies. “It was all connected up to GPS planting with technology that John Deere has, and it worked really well!”
“Where the walking paths were, they were about 4 feet wide,” he adds. “It was just nice and smooth clean dirt.”
Ron says his son worked on the corn maze plan in the winter and thought he had it all figured out but then when he got to the field this spring, technology wasn’t his friend. He had to spend some time with tech support before the planter knew what to do. But once the tractor’s GPS system and the seeder were synced, he was off and running.
For the Jefferies family it was fun to create the maze, seed it and watch it grow over the summer months. “The crop grew very well. The crop was thick and very healthy,” says Ron.
“And it’s been used a lot, probably since the end of July, right around there it was right up over your head,” he explains. “Of course, during the summer months, the corn field was green with the corn plants about 9 feet high. Now, of course it’s the fall season and the leaves are almost dead. In about another week or two the field will be harvested so there is still some time to enjoy the corn maze.”
The 10-acre corn patch was a collaborative effort between Jefferies Seeds and Chad Berry from Over the Hills Farms at Cypress River. And it was free to the public to enjoy.
Last weekend’s heavy winds pulled some of the signage down, however Ron Jefferies invites folks to come out during these beautiful October days while the corn maze is still standing.
“Many folks and families had fun running through the corn maze this summer. It was a very worthwhile project, and it was a great economical thing for families to do! Come and enjoy it as long as you can!”
(photo credit Ron Jefferies)