UI teams up with local farm to create, run corn maze
Autumn has rapidly descended upon the Palouse and with it comes the University of Idaho’s 2014 Clearwater Corn Maze.
The corn maze, located in Lewiston, is open every weekend in October and is the product of a collaborative partnership between UI and the four Vandal brothers who own Kaufman Farms.
Ian Bartlett | Argonaut
Keaton Dixen and Grace Fizer try to navigate their way through the U of I corn maze in Lewiston. The maze is on a family owned farm, but the proceeds from tickets go to the College of Agricultural Sciences.“The maze was an idea that the College of Agriculture and Kaufman Farms had,” said Larry Makus, a CALS professor in agricultural economics and rural sociology. “We thought that it would be nice to do something like this for the community.”
The fall festivity started in 2008 and although it’s a bit of a drive, the attraction quickly built a following among UI students and Moscow community members.
“My favorite part of the corn maze is that you can go through it and get lost… at night it’s so much scarier and a lot more fun,” said Rebekah Sanford, a UI student. “It’s a blast!”
Corn maze volunteer and UI student Michelle Ball said the maze is a great way to bring the Palouse’s surrounding communities together.
“It’s not just students,” Ball said. “We have community groups that come to bring their kids to the maze too.”
The 7-acre maze is known for its size and there’s even an emergency number maze-goers can call if they happen to get lost. Once the number is called, student volunteers, or self-proclaimed “corn cops,” scour the maze to find those in distress.
“It doesn’t happen often, but there have been a couple of nights where we’ve had everyone working the maze go through and find whoever was lost,” Ball said. “Last week, the number wasn’t set up correctly and the people calling the lost hotline were actually calling the nurse’s headquarters in Lewiston … it wasn’t a very big deal, but it was entertaining.”
The maze is an elaborate puzzle designed by CALS students and advisors.
“The students plan the shape of the maze with a GPS and on a work day, when the corn is about a foot high, they mow the design into the corn,” said Joe Kaufman, one of the four brothers of Kaufman Farms. “We rake it back smooth and the corn grows with the maze in it.”
This year’s design features everything from pumpkins and witch hats to an outline of the Administration Building. Mark Nebeker, president of Agricultural Student Affairs Council, said the corn maze’s design correspondents with UI’s birthday.
“The design in the corn maze is a Halloween theme applied to the 125th anniversary of the university,” Nebeker said.
Not only can maze-goers expect to get lost in the cornfield, but they can also look forward to an interactive trivia component of the experience. There are trivia questions about agriculture and the university posted throughout the maze.
Ian Bartlett | Argonaut
The UI corn maze in Lewiston is open to the general public. People of all ages can go enjoy navigating their way through the twists and turns in the corn.
In addition to a sense of community, Makus said the corn maze also aids student organizations as much as it does private industry.
“Student groups and Kaufman Farms share in the revenue,” Makus said. “The funds that go to the university are allocated directly to student organizations.”
Part of the reason why the maze is successful each year, Makus said, is because of the Kaufman family’s longstanding history with UI. Kaufman said Kaufman Farms takes pride in the maze, as three of the Kaufman brothers are UI alumni and the fourth brother is a UI student.
“It’s really a family business,” Kaufman said. “We’re all Vandals.”
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected]