Knollbrook Farm Offers Festive Fall Activities to Entertain and Educate

Knollbrook Farm in Goshen welcomes visitors for fall favorites including a corn maze, a U-pick pumpkin patch and more. Photo credit: Jeff Adkins

Researching U.S. history trivia and building giant slingshots may not be part of the day-to-day routine for most small-scale dairy farmers, but for John and Cynthia Adam of Knollbrook Farm in Goshen, those tasks are about as normal as calving and milking.

The Adams started dairy farming after they married in 1986, beginning with a handful of black-and-white Holsteins John owned. Over the next few decades, while raising their four children, the couple continued to grow their herd and farm business. Today, they’re milking about 120 cows, primarily brown Jerseys, on a total of 400 acres.

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An A-maze-ing Idea

While the dairy operation has kept them plenty busy, the shifting economic realities of the milk industry in the early 2000s prompted the family to look to agritourism to improve their bottom line.

In 2004, when their youngest daughter was 4 years old, the Adams developed a corn maze and planted a pumpkin patch to kick off what has evolved into a long and successful tradition of welcoming guests to their farm each fall for fun and educational activities.

The Adams were not alone in their diversification strategy – the U.S. Census of Agriculture data shows agritourism revenue more than tripled between 2002 and 2017 as farmers across the country sought new income streams.

Photo credit: Jeff Adkins

“We had friends in southern Indiana that had been doing this,” John says. “We had talked about the farm and milk prices and how tight things were, and they said, ‘You might want to look into it.’ So, we decided we’d give it a try.”

The venture started small with just the corn maze and a U-pick pumpkin patch behind Solomon Creek on the back of their property.

“We had very limited equity to invest in advertising or anything, so it was a slow-growing process,” says Cynthia, with John adding that it was five or six years before they started to break even.

See more: McGaughey Farms Celebrates a Century of Conservation

Photo credit: Jeff Adkins

Fall Family Traditions

Nearly 20 years later, close to 9,000 guests visit Knollbrook Farm annually from September through October to wander the 12-acre corn maze and pick out pumpkins and fancy gourds to take home from the 7-acre pumpkin patch.

Photo credit: Jeff Adkins

The corn maze is set up as a trivia scavenger hunt with a choice of themed questions, including agriculture, the Bible and history – “basically, anything on U.S. and Indiana history from probably the Great Depression on back,” Cynthia says.

Visiting the farm’s pumpkin patch has become a treasured fall tradition for many local families, John points out.

There are also fields of sunflowers and zinnias for U-pick and photo opportunities. Most recently, the Adams have added a field of lavender under the oversight of their youngest child, Faith, who recently graduated from Purdue University.

Also, at the back of the farm, guests will find a cow train for young visitors, a hayride and a gravity wagon basketball game where basketball hoops are on a gravity wagon similar to the arcade hoop games. Up front, there are even more activities, including a gaga ball pit which is a variation of dodgeball where hits above the waist are prohibited, trike tracks for all ages, a bounce pad, slides and a slingshot that shoots pumpkins toward a bullseye inner tube floating in the farm’s pond.

“Last year’s new addition was a 150-foot tube slide – you go down it on inner tubes,” John says. “That was a big hit.”

A variety of smaller games, such as checkers, plus an animal petting corral and a farm store selling packaged snacks, pumpkins, flowers and fall decor, round out the list of activities.

See more: Indiana Pick-Your-Own Pumpkin Patches

Tractor rides are just one of the many fall fun offerings at Knollbrook Farm in Goshen. Photo credit: Jeff Adkins

Making Learning Fun

While plenty of fun happens on the weekends, the Adams switch gears through the week. On weekdays during the fall, Knollbrook Farm jumps into educational mode, welcoming school groups for tours – at times as many as three schools per day.

Photo credit: Jeff Adkins

“The dairy farm and the cows are a large component of our school education program,” Cynthia explains.

Visiting groups tour the dairy barn and rotate through four or five stations where they learn about the milking process, observe the milking robots, see what products are made with milk, pet a calf, and enjoy hands-on time with other farm critters such as sheep and goats.

Students can also take a hayride, learn about pumpkins and gourds and creative uses for them, then choose their own kid-sized pumpkin to take home. Older students get to follow one of the trivia trails through the corn maze.

“The goal is that they’re going to learn something and have fun while they’re doing it,” Cynthia says.

The Adams estimate agritourism accounts for about 15% of Knollbrook Farm’s gross annual income.

“It’s a nice alternative revenue stream,” Cynthia says. “It helps buffer the ups and downs.”

John agrees. “It’s made the biggest difference the past six or seven years when the dairy economy was down. That’s what kind of pulled us through as a small dairy farm.”

Learn more: To find farm experience near you for an array of fun all year long, check out our directory at my-indiana-home.com/agritourism.