For the third year in a row, students in the geomatics program are partnering with a Florida family farm to promote agritourism.
The Single R Ranch in Plant City is co-owned by Carson and Janet Futch, both UF graduates. Each fall, the family opens up their property to the public to give non-farming folks a chance to see first-hand where their food comes from.
Their main annual event, the Fox Squirrel Corn Maze, is a family-friendly gathering featuring a pumpkin patch, games, local vendors, and, of course, a four-acre corn maze.
This year’s maze was designed by CALS students Betty Morris and Tim Jaskiewicz, both in the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation. The two are employed full-time as a GIS analyst and practicing surveyor, respectively. Morris and Jaskiewicz are able to complete their studies at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Plant City and the UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research & Education Center in Apopka through the CALS statewide distance education program.
The two were sponsored with a $1,000 scholarship apiece from the Hillsborough County Farm Bureau.
“This year we had our most ambitious maze design and all of us knew it was going to take more people than just Tim and me,” said Betty. “We reached out to our classmates for help and Lisa Olson (Geomatics undergraduate), and Ali Gonzalez-Perez (Geomatics Ph.D. student) and his son Omar, volunteered their weekend to help us out.”
Congratulations to all involved on another successful event!
The maze is open this weekend for Halloween festivities. For more information, visit: futchentertainment.com/the-fox-squirrel-corn-maze/