MILLERTON — In the second week of July, Ken Beneke sets out on his mower to create an interactive art landscape for the local community in the corn fields of his own Willow Brook Farm.
Along with carrying their own pork and beef, eggs, dairy and produce, accompanied by locally sourced goods and gifts, Willow Brook Farm is also home to an annual and cherished corn maze. “We grow everything, from zucchini and eggplant to tomatoes and potatoes,” said Casey Swift, Beneke’s girlfriend.
Despite its long-lasting success, Willow Brook Farm has not always carried all they do today. Ken Beneke is a third-generation farmer, as his grandfather, Joachim Beneke, started the farm in the 1950s, later passing it to Ken’s father Henry, and is now run by Ken.
“It has definitely grown,” Swift said. Beneke milks about 125 cows, an increase from earlier years. He also made the addition of beef cows which are kept up the road.
The farm’s corn maze has been another valuable and cherished addition to the Beneke family’s farm. The inaugural maze took place in 2019, and while they took the next year off for COVID, Swift added that, “People came and kept wanting it, we should have done it that year, but we weren’t sure what was going on.”
Since 2021, Willow Brook Farm has continued the corn maze annually. With the farm being run by Ken and three other men, Swift says it serves as Beneke’s outlet of entertainment in the midst of busy days on the farm.
“We’ve had a great turnout,” Swift said. “Kids love it, adults love it.”
Planning and creating a corn maze every year is no easy feat, however. Preparation for the maze starts in May, when Swift begins to think about the design. “We don’t give ourselves too much time because otherwise I’ll change my mind over and over again,” Swift admitted, laughing. “Its about two months of preparation.”
“Coming up with a new design every year is a challenge,” said Swift, who designs the plans for Beneke to carry out in the field. This year, Swift was joined by a local boy named Leo, who came up with this year’s barn-themed design.
Swift sketches the design onto a piece of paper and creates a graphic design before she hands it off to Beneke. “Ken’s brain works in mysterious ways. He just holds the paper while he drives his lawn mower, while most people pay to have it done on a GPS. He just does it on his own,” she said.
While creating these plans, Swift thinks of how Beneke will be able to put mower to corn. With last year’s Yankee logo design, there were curves to keep in mind. “I have to think of the curves,” she said. “It obviously works better if there are angles. So we got the curves with the angles. It just took a little time, but he’s just super creative in getting it done.”
After the plan is put in place, Beneke will mow the corn about three times during the preparation season to keep it from growing back, the first of which he began on a sunny Thursday, July 10.
Usually, the maze is ready around the last week of August, when people begin to ask and anticipate its arrival. Customers will be able to come in, pay and walk across the street to complete the maze on their own, given a map to follow, courtesy of Beneke’s friend who provides aerial drone images.
Although opening day to the maze is busy, Swift said that the farm “doesn’t do any grand opening or anything. It is mostly word of mouth, and we haven’t had to advertise yet, which is fantastic. People know we’re going to be here.”
The corn maze has become an important event for not only its customers, but its proprietors as well. “The corn maze is very important to Ken,” said Swift. “He has always wanted to do it since he was young.” It is what keeps the pair excited to create the maze every year.
After last year, Beneke has also been eager to provide a second haunted corn maze on Halloween weekend, which will be put into action by Beneke’s son and Swift’s daughter along with friends. With the previous years being successful, Willow Brook Farm hopes to attract more customers to the haunted maze through advertisements.
For all eager to navigate this year’s Willow Brook Farm Corn Maze, it will be open Thursday through Monday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from late August until the field is mowed after Halloween. It will also be open for groups by appointment. Prices are $12 for adults and $8 for children. Willow Brook Farm is located at 196 Old Post Road off of Route 22 just north of the Village of Millerton.
