Auburn Homestead offers fall family fun

Auburn Homestead Pumpkin Patch is growing in its third season, offering more fall family fun than ever with activities such as petting farm animals, solving a corn maze, munching on freshly-made caramel apples or watching a pumpkin-flinging cannon in action.

The public is invited to meet the owners Mike and Carrie Stoffel and their three boys, try out all their kid-friendly attractions, greet the farm animals including a giant steer, go on a hayride, pick out pumpkins, squash, gourds or fall foliage, and browse their country store, which also has food items, including freshly-made caramel apples.

The daughter of Eugene and Linda Dachel, Carrie was raised on the neighboring farm where her father still lives. Her mother passed away this summer. New York Times bestselling author Michael Perry of New Auburn made her parents’ farm famous when using it on the cover of the original edition of his first book “Population 485.”

Now the Stoffels are endeavoring to make their own farm not just recognizable but a place where people can carve out new memories each fall. She explained how their homestead got its start.

“In 2019 my husband Michael and I bought a portion of my family’s farm,” Carrie shared. “The farm was an operating dairy farm until 2010 — that is when my father retired from farming. My brother [Ben] and I did not want to see the farm divided so we bought some of the land, my brother and his family purchased the rest. My brother planted Christmas trees on several acres that he will be opening in the next few years as Dachel’s Red Barn Tree Farm.

“My brother now owns the buildings, but my father still lives in the home,” she said of her parents’ farm. “Our mother supported the growth of our pumpkin patch and my brother’s tree business. So there’s a lot of history and love on our farm.

“Our first year of planting pumpkins was in 2020,” she said. “Our first year of having the pumpkin patch open to the public was September 2021. Every year we add more attractions and family activities. We added our country store in 2022. In our store we have fall and Halloween items and décor. We sells crafts made by local artists. We also sell mums and other fall foliage such as broom corn stalks and ornamental corn. We offer a variety of pumpkins, squash and gourds all planted on our farm.”

Aware that time spent in the fresh, country air can arouse the appetite, the Stoffels added items to keep their guests from going away hungry.

“In the country store we have a small food menu our guests can choose from. Some items include burgers, hot dogs, hot beef sandwiches, cookies, bars, popcorn, apple cider, hot chocolate, mini donuts and caramel apples.”

She added, “Our caramel apples are becoming very popular. The apples we chose come from local apple orchards made fresh daily. Another popular menu item is our mini donuts made in front of our guests and served warm.”

Those energized by the food and treats have plenty of ways to expend it.

“Our attractions include candy corn jump pillow, corn pit, inflatables, small train with barrel cars and a sling shot shooting range,” Carrie said. “We offer a hay ride that rolls through our pastures, woods and Christmas tree lots. On the hayride you will have beautiful views of fall colors and you might see some spooky Halloween scenes as you go through the more densely wooded areas of the trail.”

Another unforgettable experience may be seeing pumpkins soar through the air.

“We have the largest pumpkin cannon in the area,” she said. “Our cannon can shoot a pumpkin up to a half-mile.”

She continued, “We also have a corn maze — this is our first year having a maze. We are excited to see our guests enjoy it. At the end there is a small lookout platform where you can take in surrounding fall colors.”

Feathers, fur, snouts, muzzles and ears can be stroked, patted and caressed at a farm animal petting zoo.

“Our animals live on our farm all year long — this is their home,” Carrie said. “Some of our animals include chickens, goats, rabbits, donkeys, sheep, pigs, horses, calves and a steer named Fester that weighs over 2,700 pounds!

“Fester visits our farm every year from a neighboring farm,” she explained. “He has a unique story we share with our guests. He belongs to a family that owns a veterinary clinic, Jergen and Jody Lang. Fester had a broken leg as a calf and a local farmer gave him to the family to care for and raise, and all their love nursed him to health and allowed him to grow so big! The guests love meeting Fester and hearing his story.”

Auburn Homestead Pumpkin Patch, located south of New Auburn at 355 W. Tarr Road, is open Sept. 21-Oct. 27, weekends only, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The admission price includes all activities. For more information and photos, visit its website at auburnhomestead.com.