WE SPENT THE LAST YEAR BUILDING A PUMPKIN FARM - START TO FINISH!
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2024
- Anyone that has been watching the iowANFarmer channel for some time now knows that we started a pumpkin farm from scratch this year. We took a blank chunk of land and turned it into a fully operational agritourism business.
We documented a few videos here on the channel but will be moving all the pumpkin patch content to the "Patch you Later" UA-cam channel
youtube.com/@patchyoulater?si...
Here is the first video - • WELCOME TO OUR PUMPKIN...
These are some of the vides that we have done on this channel.
• GRAIN BINS GO FLYING!
• INSTALLING AN OVERHEAD...
• ROOKIES TAKE ON WATER ...
iowANFarmer, Ben Van Roekel, is a 2nd generation farmer in southern Iowa. His goal on UA-cam is to showcase what young farmers have to offer to the agricultural community. He hopes to give the general public a glimpse into what life is like on an American corn, soybean, and hay operation. The channel will focus on farming equipment, repairs, precision ag, and daily operations on the farm. Join him in his daily trials and tribulations in the changing agricultural environment.
iowANFarmer
PO BOX 58
Plano, IA, 52581
Email: iowanfarmer52581@gmail.com - Розваги
![How To Grow a Pumpkin Patch [Without Fixing All Your Lousy Soil]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wQrOeCrAs0k/mqdefault.jpg)
You guys are the kind of people that boost my faith in humanity. Your work ethic, humble nature and love for your community is impressive!
Wow, thank you!
Great video, very nice recap, Ben and Molly. Best wishes on the 2024 Patch Season.
Thank you!
I’m so excited for you 2! Newlyweds with 2 businesses! Esp bringing the local economy business. We have these patches here in PA & they do amazingly well. You’ve always been very forward thinking Ben, it’ll pay off.
Yes! Thank you!
Wow building looks nice inside. Guess you won’t be storing equipment in there for the winter. Well I would say it’s a success since you guys are still smiling and are still married. Congratulations.
That’s you can add to the success list too!
Great work you two n thanks for friends, family n community for help n support with Papo pumpkin patch. Interesting with running of events, i am glad you put full effort in display, electrical, gravel, especially way some business become successful. Now easter egg hunt?? Ben n Molly meet n greet day?
We’ve thought about an Easter egg hunt but getting going that early would be difficult
Hell of job. Nice to see to young entrepreneurs succeed on a big adventure as what you to did.
I appreciate that!
You are probably excited for 2024!
We are!
Way to go you two. Love following you two and your business adventure. I wish you the best of the luck on the next year's as you continue to grow the pumpkin biz
Thanks so much!
Man I have been waiting for months for this video
It’s finally here!
@@iowANFarmer I’m not only here for the pumpkin patch videos but it was kinda cool to see an idea become reality. And the maze really got me hooked lol it was beautiful
I don't know if real Christmas trees are big down there, but that looks like an awesome spot to sell pre cut Christmas trees!
We tried to find a Christmas tree farm.
So glad you put this video together. Lots of stress and a short amount of time to put it all together - you two did amazing! You gave some kids and families great memories - and that is a huge part of the benefits of the tourism programs.
Congratulations!!
Thank you so much!
I’m blown away, you guys are A- mazing!!!!! Great Job!!!!!!
Thanks you! Appreciate it!
@@iowANFarmer I sent you guys a E Mail!
What a great asset to that community may every forward be a great success. Thank you for sharing your journey.
Our pleasure!
If you can partner with a Christmas tree farm &/or sell fresh wreaths & poinsettias in the Holiday shop you’d probably do well. You already have power out front to run strands of lights out around the trees. Like I said, here in PA we have a lot of patches like yours. They sell local produce during the summer, then the pumpkins & then the fresh Christmas trees, etc.
We looked for a Christmas Tree farm this year.
@@iowANFarmer a lot closed in 2020 around here. First time in our lives we had to get a fake tree.
Looks great. Stick to what your gut says will work in your community.
Thanks, will do!
A paint you pumpkin night….. a couple of Thursday nights. Have one be a kids night and one for mom’s night(BYOW).
Maybe donate some decorations to a local senior center/ assisted living with a courtesy of Papo’s pumpkin patch sign.
A pick your own flower area. During the off season. Zinnias and sunflowers are really easy to grow..
Maybe a tractor show in the spring.. food trucks… some music
Enjoy the journey.
Thanks for the great ideas!
I ENJOYED WATCHING THE VIDEO BEN and MOLLY 😊
Thanks for watching!
It would have been awesome if you could break even on your first year, but also optimistic 😁
Well done guys!
That would have been nice!
Excellent video! Congratulations on a first year success. Love the shop!
Thank you! We got some good advice along the way 😃
You guys did so good. You guys should sell some bandit shirts next year. Good for you guys. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. Good things take time.
We will keep that in mind!
Very cool yinz two, wish you all the best.
Thank you kindly
Congratulations on your achievement of your Pumpkin Patch 🎃 👏
Great to see your double act in this video 😊
Thank you! 😄
Congratulations! From my perspective you two knocked it out of the park. I hope the future turns out just as well if not better for both of you. P S I missed Molly's spunky goofy-ness. lol
You can catch a lot of it on the patch you later channel!
off to a great start! what kind of raffles did you run?
Raffles?
Great video, I have been wanting to put a corn maze in at our family’s Christmas tree farm farm for years now. We finally got a plan together last winter and are starting to pice things together around the farm. Thanks so much for all the information, there’s not many channels that tell about corn mazes and advice about how to run one. I will be watching this video on repeat until maze time!
I could learn a thing or two about Christmas Trees!
Nice job..
Thank you! Cheers!
Great Great job you guys, just WOW!!!! Working together gets you so much more.👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks 👍
The best of luck for increased visitors in '24. Might think about looking to sell some pumpkins to retail stores in the medium distance to avoid local visitors from not coming to the patch.
That is a possibility!
Interesting to hear about all the details of the pumpkin patch!
Are we going to try the scuba video again?
Good for y’all! What a great way to build a business, support your community, and enrich your lives and marriage! You’re both creative and talented people with a passion for those around you. I really enjoy your videos. God Bless Y’all and hopefully I can come see Papos Pumpkin Patch in the future.
Thanks so much!!
Great video, you guys. I'm know it took a lot of work.
Just a little bit!
And having a Barn cat… you can forget your favorite feline
Can’t forget the barn cat!
THANKS SO MUCH YOU TWO!! I truly admire folks like your self,get it done from the ground up. You guys are a great asset to your community for sure. Wish you guys nothing but the best in this venture and the future what ever comes your way. 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks so much!
Absolutely no disrespect to your grandfather. But think of make annual shirts each year for haunted corn maze. “ I got so scared I papo’d my pants 2024. 😂 know I would get one. Bob in Pennsylvania
That’s perfect 👍
Awesome job guys! Ben, it was nice meeting you at the iowa ag expo last week!
Nice chatting with you!
0:39 FREEKIN AWESOME!!!! THATS A STOREFRONT :) WELL IT IS A STORE!! :) YOU HAVE A PLACE OF BIZZYNUTTZZNESS STUFFZZ !!!! :) YEA !!! :)
were you able to pull a check from the BIZ ??? don't forget to do that.... just reminder... ;)
1 new business helping to support 10 other vendors along with the food truck business then to include the schools with field trips and the sophomore class with a Fundraiser is DEFINITELY a successful first year. I hope the years that follow brings you both huge success for your businesses. Thank you for the recap on the patch and Thank you both for all the hard work you have put in.
Thank you for the awesome comment!
Ben and Molly, congratulations on a successful first year. Like you said maybe not totally successful financially but the learning curve can be rather steep at times. My Wife and I have a good idea of what you faced and went through. We sold Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, and Christmas season item's in Southwest Minnesota. We did that for 34 years. Like you, we had a few vender's almost every year. We had Santa for a couple weekends and we had actual bobsled rides with a team of horses also for a couple of weekends. We were successful the first year but we had a couple of hurdles also. We had livestock on our farm yard be it across the yard from the building we used for the trees. Prevailing winds carried the barn odor to the trees. We weathered the storm but made some changes after that. After a few years doing it in the cold we weren't farming anymore so I made one of our other buildings into a heated shop and cold machine storage. We then could have all the tree's inside cold and still have a heated area for the activities. No ice or snow on the trees and the other items. The whole family had an immense amount of fun and memories from that endeavor. The boys, my wife and I still talk about some of the good times. Again congratulations on your first year and onward and upward in the future.
I’d love to chat about Christmas trees. Can you send me an email? Iowafarmer52581@gmail.com
Very well done folks, hope you have continued success in your venture. 🎃🎃🎃🚜🚜🚜🎄🎄🎄
I hope so too!
Hi Molly and Ben. Just subbed to your new channel. Enjoy all your posts. Will you make it to the Farm machinery show in Louisville this year.
We should make it!
Congrats it will get busier every year. Good luck and continued success!!
That’s our hope!
Congrats on your first year, really proud of you both, we didn't make it down but will really try next year
Hope to see you then!
You guys did a great job! I don’t raise pumpkins but my neighbors do. They have to do a crop rotation that only allows pumpkins every 3 years I think. They say the disease pressure is to high. I’m sure you have thought about that but just in case I wanted to say something. I wish you were closer. We would definitely visit your pumpkin patch.
Decease can become a problem!
I’m impressed. Well done.
👍👍👍
Happy you two had a successful year! Maybe you’ve found your niche.
I hope so!
Congratulations, you’ve done a fantastic job
I appreciate that!
Well done Ben and Molly!
A nice summary! Good luck in the future!
Thanks!
Awesome job.. I followed your journey with the pumpkins all season.. We have a pumpkin patch also... I grow about 25 acres in total to stock our stand and sell the rest wholesale to other patches.. growing up we planted on bare dirt and tilled in between like you.. since then I've moved to all no till in wheat stubble.. keeps ground firm for picking, pumpkins clean and a lot less weed pressure by not working the ground.. your planter is 10x bigger than what I use, itd surely go thru stubble.. also built an hooded sprayer for our ranger - now i can run roundup/liberty between rows until the plants tip.. reflex is the best preemergent Ive found.. any questions or need tips just ask .. big fan of the channel
Send me an email! Always like to chat with other people to see if I can pick up some tricks!
Truly awesome......
One thing will bring people is a tractor ride
Glad to see you had a good first year.
I know you visited Bloomsbury Farm west of Cedar Rapids , and they were a small business at one time. Continue to stay in contact with them because they are a wealth of knowledge.
We actually did not talk with Bloomsbury due to we wanted more information from smaller patches. We figured it be more applicable to our situation
Great video, good luck with your new project
Fingers crossed!
America is great because folks like you have dreams and take risks. Impressive comprehensive execution. Pricing idea. Raise to $14 but give $1 coupon for the store with proof of a social media post.
I've come across some good marketing ideas and I will also add yours to the list!
Definitely expand on your night time. All of our mazes are open thurs, fri and Sat nights.
What a great business you and
Molly have created.
Are you going to be able to move your patches around.
Desise and mold will become a problem after two or three years. AGAIN CONGRATULATIONS !!!!
We might do extended hours at some point.
Really enjoyed the video. Good luck next year. Great Idea 💡
Thanks we are gearing up for next year!
IowANFarmer is a genius name. I work for an ag company in Cedar Rapids IA… ANF
Nice! Went to CR Prairie!
No way.. I drive right in front CR prairie on my way to New Leader mfg every morning! Small world
@@bungmagoo8566 yes sir!
❤
Great job you crazy kids!
Thank you!
I am so happy for you two❤😊.
Thank you!
Congratulations guys.
Thanks!
You guys did an awesome job in a short time period. Totally impressed.
Thank you!
I'm from Long Island NY(Sorry)I'll be taking a ride to the patch next season. I wanna be a part of your success. I know it will be a winner, just look at the two of you perform........... I wish you both well in everything you do.........
Appreciate it!
Damn, bots going wild in the comments.
The comments are positive as it should be ,it is great thing ,what is wrong with you ,are you some bloody basement dweller?
And I can’t get them to stop, unless I’m there as soon as the video starts and delete them!
He’s chatting about previous comments that have been deleted.
What about insurance (cost, if it was hard to get, if you needed a specific insurance, etc).
There is a special insurance, not overly expensive so we didn’t talk about it.
and with inflation. that gravel will just be more expensive, so doing it year one was good.
We will need even more next year 😂
How big was your corn maze? (Sorry if I missed that in the video). I have been contemplating starting a pumpkin patch and this video might just make me do that!
4 acres
@iowANFarmer Thank you! Looking forward to following along this year.
Maybe you should look at doing and Easter egg patch too.
We have talked about an Easter Egg hunt
My idea is have pictures with Easter Bunny who gives away candy egg.
Are there any fire codes for your building? I don't see any exit or emergency lights or fire extinguishers.
From what we understand, no.
''connected to 2 other 80s'' does that mean it was like 193 (or wutever) acres that got split up 3 ways??
Yes, 3 tracks
The link to Patch you later is not working
Hopefully that’s working again! Let me know!
@@iowANFarmer good now
4:53 WHAT IS THE STORY PERTAININT TO CENTERVILLE's (township?) not SQUARE appearance??? whats with that JAGGED SPIKE POINTING UP ?? LOL
yea oh oh yea, (KOOLAID) LOL OH YEA !!!
no, wait, ....
YEA CONGRATS!!!!!! :) well wait... you gunna be able to do it again better, bigger and more ''everything'' NEXT YEAR RIGHT????? (if so then seriously congratz!!!!) :) if you only did it one and done, and it won't be sustainable, sadface, but congratz@!!@ :) YOU WENT OUT THERE INTO THE BATTING CAGE!! :) that's half of WINNING the ''battle''!!!
Would have liked to watch the video but can't stand Molly or what ever her name is!! Annoying!!! Sorry Ben.
You’re a lovely human. I sure everyone loves you. ❤️