CHESTER, Utah — Many families will venture out to find a pumpkin patch this fall, but what you may not realize is that the fun weekend activity may actually be going a long way toward helping save a local family farm.
In Chester, Sunder Creek Farms owners Brett and Jenna Madsen were busy getting ready on Wednesday for the weekend kickoff to their pumpkin patch.
"Farming here, especially here in Sanpete County, it’s tough. We’ve got limited water, limited resources. You know, we have good years. But the last few years have been pretty challenging financially," said Brett.
Born and raised in the northern part of the county, Brett married into Sunder Creeks Farms nearly two decades ago.
"I am third generation. My grandpa was a dairy farmer in Lehi, and my dad continued, and they moved here to Chester, and I get to carry on with my 4, almost 5 boys," said Jenna. "I am the fourth daughter of a dairy farmer, so I deserved to have 5 boys!"
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The Madsens were featured on the History Channel's "American Farmer" series in 2019.
"It was quite the experience," Brett said, "Telling our story about agriculture and the challenges. And there are a lot of misconceptions. You know, the majority of food in the U.S. comes from small family farms like ours."
Brett worked for Jenna's dad on the farm while in high school. After they married and moved back from college, they eventually added the holiday activities to help keep them afloat.
"You can make a little money to make up for your losses," explained Brett. "And at the end of the day, we were able to make our farm payments and make things happen because of the agri-tourism part of our farm."
"It keeps us going," Jenna added. "Gives you hope for the future and it’s fun!"
The farm offers a corn maze, fun for the kids, and plenty of homegrown pumpkins of all shapes and sizes.
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Sunder Creek mainly produces alfalfa and hay, and since selling their turkey operations and dairy cattle, they now focus on feed and some beef cattle, and also host weddings and other special events.
"It’s not big, it’s not extravagant. It’s low-key, a slower pace, and you don’t have thousands of people," said Jenna. "We’ve had a lot of people from the Wasatch Front come down and really enjoy coming to the pumpkin patch."
While the farm is an hour-and-a-half drive from Salt Lake City, Jenna shared, "Our valley is so beautiful, it’s worth the drive."
The Madsens say this year has been one of their hardest, hoping visitors coming to get a taste of the country this fall will help their bottom line and allow them to continue to do what they love for generations to come.
"It’s definitely a family farm, and we try to keep that feel on the pumpkin patch," Jenna said.
"We’re living the dream and loving it," Brett shared. "There’s still a lot of challenges. It’s hard every day, and we’ve got to think outside the box and thank goodness [Jenna's] sharp enough to find ways to make money."
Sunder Creek Farms kicks off their special pumpkin patch and fun family activities on Friday and will be open from noon to dark Fridays and Saturdays, and then mid-October, the gates will be open weekdays starting at 3 p.m.
