Illustration by Todd Detwiler
Without assistance from aliens, constructing a corn maze seems difficult. One imagines a farmer driving his harvester through the field, making hairpin turns to create an intricate pattern, with directions provided by GPS. Not so, says Jerry Kirk, owner of Brookdale Farms, home to the region’s largest maze. “Uh, you know that grid pattern you learn in, like, second or third grade? We draw it out and just spray some stuff to get the design we want,” he says. He doesn’t even go up in a helicopter afterward to check his work. “You can really see what you’ve done as you spray the herbicide to create the pattern.” Clearly, he’s just covering for the aliens.
Size: The maze covers 10.5 acres. That’s nearly a half million square feet in which to lose yourself.
Design: Kirk starts the maze design when the plants are about 4 inches tall. The field is broken down into sections of five rows by five rows.
Clearing the Path: Workers put on backpacks of herbicide and follow a paper grid pattern. They spray from east to west and then north to south to kill the plants that stand in what will be the passageways of the maze.
Homage: From the air, what does the maze depict? This year, it’s the Eureka logo with the city’s motto, “Eureka: Proud Past, Promising Future.” Kirk says he wanted to pay tribute to the city that was recently named by Niche as one of the best towns in America in which to raise a family.
Corn: Most farmers plant their corn in April—but to plan for a maze that will reach 8 feet high in mid-September, Kirk sows about 130,000 corn plants the first week of July.
Feed: After the maze closes, in mid-November, the yield is a lot of visitors and about 18,000 ears of corn, which equates to roughly two semi loads. The corn is used for animal feed and to make ethanol.
Scare Tactics: For older audiences, there’s a separate haunted maze, known as Red’s Corn Maze Massacre, with the slogan “Fear the farm!”
Lost and Found: Yes, it happens every year. If you follow the 10 signs bearing riddles that provide clues to getting through the maze, you should finish in 45 minutes to an hour. Otherwise, the Corn Cops in yellow shirts will come rescue you.
