HORTONVILLE, Wis.-- All autumn long, Wisconsin families look forward to finding a crisp morning to spend with bright colors, hayrides and pumpkin picking.
It’s an experience Cuff Farmsin Hortonville, has worked to provide for decades.
More than 10,000 people visit during their fall season, and are welcomed by both Sandy and Lois Cuff.
“Many people said, "Don't marry a farmer, you'll regret it, I have not regretted it," laughed Lois.
Some believe that farming is a lot like marriage, “I think that when you commit to someone, you grow together. We have. We’ve grown together as a couple as well as a business.” said Lois.
Sandy Cuff says he’s seen the highs and lows of farming. “It's very hard work and some days it's a blessing and some days it's a curse.”
The five generation Cuff farm is on more than 200 acres of land in Hortonville. Sandy and Lois took over from Sandy’s parents in 1989.
They continued the family business of pick-your-own strawberries and then found the itch to do more.
“The first year [we sold pumpkins] we had about 600 students and I thought that was all we ever needed, we didn’t need any more.” explained Sandy. “It’s turned into almost 10,000 people coming through our farm in the month of October.”
In September and October, people travel from all over for the Cuff’s pumpkin experience.
“Not only are they picking a product by getting a ride out to the field, they are experiencing a corn maze a straw bale maze,” said Lois.
As Sandy explained, it’s just as fun for the Cuffs, as it is for the kids, “If you took a picture of me when we take them out on a wagon and take them out to the field, I have the biggest smile from ear to ear.”
At the end of the day, the Cuffs hope that people are leaving with more than just a pumpkin.
“We've always felt like we have so much and this way we can share it with people so that it’s not just our joy that comes from it, that other people can have that joy too,” said Lois. “We've always felt like we have so much and this way we can share it with people so that it’s not just our joy that comes from it, that other people can have that joy too.”
The Cuffs plan to pass along that joy to the next generation.
Their daughter Maggie and husband Alex will take on the farm next.
“I think that our hope for the next generation is to find as much joy in it as we have. Sometimes hard work is hard to equate with joy. So we're hoping that it can become whatever venue, it would still be something that the public would value and get a good experience from,” said Lois.
If you’re interested in visiting Cuff Farms, you can find them open to the public on the weekends.
You can visit their websitefor more information.
