Autumn is in the air, and that means: fall foliage, crisp weather and pumpkin spice everything until winter sets in. For those cultivating the land, autumn is harvest season, and wonderful though the bounty may be, that adds up to a whole lot of farm work.
Visitors dream of getting out into the countryside to pick a few bushels of apples or choose the perfect porch pumpkin. For farmers opening up their land to autumn guests, adding hosting duties to the overall farm workload is a balancing act, but it can be worth it.
At the Fly Creek Cider Mill & Orchard outside Cooperstown, NY, visitors keep them busy, especially during weekends, though they reserve one day a week for pressing their cider. A water-hydraulic cider press built in 1889 is functional enough to keep the cider voted best in the nation flowing, but owner Bill Michaels said seeing the historic process is a highlight for visitors.
Like many autumn agritourism operations, Michaels is not the first generation to enter the business, having bought his farm from his parents in the late ‘90s. He’s gratified to see people are as enthusiastic about coming to Fly Creek as they were when his parents first started it in the 1970s.
He figures there is a winning combination that keeps the people coming back: “Who doesn’t love apples and cider and warm apple cider doughnuts?”
Apple products of all kinds are very popular this time of year, but as far as autumn activities goes, it’s all about apple picking. This is certainly true at Gray’s Apple Ridge Orchard in Jonestown, PA (though their selection of fresh apple crisps and apple bars is no deterrent). Opening after Labor Day can mean a slow start, but this year Pam Gray, who owns and operates the farm alongside her husband David, said visitors were ready to pick as soon as they opened.
“People seemed anxious to come out,” she said, as evidenced by the fact that her Macintosh and Honeycrisp trees have already been picked clean. But there’s still plenty of Cortlands, Galas, Jonagolds and Crispins.
“People love the picking part,” she said, and considers that it is increasingly rare to have that connection to where your food comes from, especially for the kids. “It’s something we emphasize in school field trips, and it’s good for parents to show their children too. Kids get very excited about picking.”
Running the business for 20 years means that for Pam and David, one of the sweetest aspects of the job is watching these kids grow up. “Some people will come and say that their child might be 17 years old and have been coming every year – they’ve been taking pictures of them here every year along the way.”
Iconic though apple picking may be, the U-pick pumpkin adventure is a close runner-up. At Pumpkinville in Great Valley, NY, the experience is one that owner Dan Powlowski likens to a fall carnival for all ages.
“The most important thing is to make sure every person who comes in has a good time,” he stressed. “Heck, if they don’t have a smile on their face then we’re not doing our job.”
To that end, they offer games, a carousel and a tiny train for little ones and a corn barn and farm animals for a fun experience. Adults can enjoy the beer garden and cider pressed on site. Most visitors leave with bellies full of pumpkin-spiced treats – doughnuts are devoured in vast quantities daily.
Powlowski recommends everything they make (their pumpkin cookies especially), though after decades in the business he leaves most of the sampling to the customers.
Fun activities are delightful extras at Pumpkinville, but come harvest time the pumpkin patch is the main event, and there’s a year’s worth of work that goes into it. “I like growing – it’s a rewarding occupation,” Powlowski said. “There’s planning all winter, planting in spring, working to get the place together in the summer.” Come autumn, he said, “it’s neat to get the fruition.”
Third generation farmers are helping out at Pumpkinville in Great Valley, NY. Photo courtesy of Pumpkinville
Seemingly endless pumpkin patches pepper their green fields with vibrant spots of orange, and their U-pick offerings range from tiny decorative gourds to the real armloads chosen by ambitious jack-o’-lantern carvers.
He’s found visitors prefer to limit their pumpkin eating to onsite baked goods, so they stick to decorative pumpkins earlier in the season, with their interesting shapes and color combinations, and future jack-o’-lanterns when Halloween has people looking for that classic, round orange pumpkin ready for its gap-toothed grin.
A family business, Powlowski figures he and his daughter log 100 hours a week during autumn; his son only works at Pumpkinville part-time, but this time of year he’s right beside them. Knowing that this is a yearly tradition for so many, and a place where special memories are made, he is happy to put in the effort.
At A&A Maple in Attica, NY, autumn marks the beginning of their production cycle, not the culmination as it is for most growers. Maple trees are tapped in late winter, and so watching the falling leaves is a sign that their long days tapping in frigid temperatures are ahead of them.
Though maple syrup production has been an important activity for his family for generations, they kept things small. It was owner Doug Beitz and his brother Jim who decided to take it to the next level and invest in some serious equipment. “This was a tradition we wanted to continue with large-scale production,” he said. In a 6,000-tap operation that produces around 2,500 gallons a year, production takes center stage, making agritourism less of a focus – but it’s still important to him to invite autumn visitors along for the ride.
Beitz welcomes guests to the farm with the hope they’ll learn more about the magic of maple. “A lot of people don’t have enough knowledge about their food sources. We try to share our craftsmanship not only with people coming out to see the fall foliage, but the rest of our community. We do 4-H tours in addition to all kinds of public tours,” he said. “We implore people to come in from all over so we can show how sugar is grown naturally from the tree – we call it tree-to-table.”
He knows many visitors are coming for the splendid colors of the trees he tends, but “I hope everybody comes away knowing something about maple, and its transformation from sap to syrup.”
Visitors often swing by the maple operation after visiting pumpkin patches and apple orchards nearby, so they’re all filled up on fall goodies. What they’re missing is high quality maple syrup to pour over pumpkin pancakes the next morning, and A&A is more than happy to help.
Whatever the focus of the farm, it’s clear that wherever there is fall foliage, farmers willing to take on the masses can rest assured they’ll have no shortage of business. As autumn leaves of crimson and gold gently float to the ground, all are reminded that when natural beauty is fleeting, you have to seize the moment. Offer people a chance to pick their own harvest and enjoy the cool weather on the farm. They’ll take you up on it – especially if you’re fully stocked with freshly baked autumn treats.
by Holly Devon
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