Last spring, Swisher farmer Ben Allenford had grand ideas of hosting children of all ages at his farm, taking advantage of the popular agri-tourism trend and pocketing some extra cash in the process. Unfortunately, his out-of-the-box attractions, including a maze made with soybean plants, didn’t produce the results he desired.
“In hindsight, yeah, I guess I should have known better,” Allenford said. “I mean, of course I know soybeans don’t grow as tall as corn. I guess when the wives had girls weekend in Des Moines and Kwikee-Mart had Busch Light on sale, Merlin (neighbor Merlin Pendercrast) and I probably got carried away with the idea. Still, it seemed like a really unique idea at the time.”
Allenford said he still plans to open his farm to guests this fall for other attractions he and Merlin brainstormed, including large livestock face painting and rider mower bumper cars.
