FARMINGTON – Believing agriculture can produce food and be fun, farmer Herbert L. “Bussie” York is starting a new venture this summer – a corn maze.

Located near York’s Sandy River Farm on the Farmington Falls Road, the maze is planned for the site where dog sled races are held each year. Paths through 10 acres of corn will be cut once it reaches a foot in height.

York plans to open the field on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October. People can get exercise and learn about agriculture as they walk through the 10- to 12-foot-high corn stalks, he said. It will take about 45 minutes to complete, with posted questions about agriculture to lead people through the maze.

“If you pick the right answer, you can walk right through. If not, then you go to dead ends,” York said.

Some adults may enjoy bringing a flashlight and taking a stroll through the maze at night – but not if they are claustrophobic, he said.

There are three other mazes in Maine, one in Corinna, one in Mechanic Falls and one in Dayton, but this is the first for this area. York has already invested $3,000 to get the project started, he said. He has contracted with a company in Utah that will come to York to create the design and cut the corn. York wants a design that when photographed from the sky spells out the message “Maine farms – buy local” or something similar, he said.

“It’s the wave of the future – connecting people and food, making a real connection between those who produce and those who consume it,” York said.

 

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