The Guardian - Amazing Farm
11/08/2005
A maze with three miles of paths created out of a maize field is the latest attempt by farmers in the Midlands to make money out of farm land that no longer produces enough income from growing food. Hundreds of families a day are visiting the, maze at Postern House, Tatenhill. Burton-on-Trent, to get lost among the two metre-high plants. The maze, which depicts a spaceman floating weightlessly, was designed by Adrian Fisher. Once the field is planted and the crops begin to grow, the maze is mapped out in the crop, using string and canes as markers, with a satellite positioning system to allow the person on the ground to follow the design. Men with hoes then remove a quarter of the plants in the field to create the maze. Once the crop has grown to sufficient height to prevent people seeing across the field, up to 400 people at a time can be admitted to get lost in the labarynth. Normally the 2.5 hectares (six acre) field would produce 110tonnes of maize to feed the cattle on the farm, run by the Robinson family. By Creating the maize about 27 tonnes of the crop will be lost, slightly more than£500 in the value of the grain. However for the maze and other attractions in the courtyard of the farm, including water pistol fights for children, around 400 people a day are paying £4.50 each or £14 for a family ticket for four.
The Robinsons hope to make considerably more money than they would have done from conventional farming. Ivor Robinson, one of the four partners in the business, said: “It probably has cost more and been a lot more work than we had expected. But we are confident it will be well worth it, as it has been so well received.” Kathryn Robinson, Tom’s wife, also a partner, said: “The four partners do beef, arable and dairy farming but have been told to diversify to survive financially. “This is our first major project. So far it looks good and we hope to keep going to the end of September and then harvest the crop in the normal way”.
Looking down on the 2005 National Forest Maze