Steed’s Dairy Farm Offers Corn Maze and More

Steed’s Dairy Farm will be a century old in 13 years. There are still cows to be milked and land to be tended, but whereas the farm once specialized in providing dairy, now it primarily offers learning.

“We try to use it as a teaching tool, because most kids nowadays don’t have a connection to a farm,” said owner Jim Steed. “We’re basically the connection between the farmer and the consumer.”

The 174-acre farmstead has been managed by the Steed family for generations, ever since Steed’s grandfather, John L. Steed Sr., purchased the land in the land in the 1940s, when Wrightsboro Road was, as Jim Steed describes it, “nothing but dirt.”

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Steed, along with his father and brothers, worked the farm, milked cows and hauled dairy, maintaining the farm growing up and well into their adult years. After his brother, John Steed III died, Jim Steed decided to get out of the dairy business and focus on agritourism.

Since 2011, Steed’s has welcomed visitors, adults and children alike, to explore the farm and its various upkeep. It hosts school field trips. There are hayrides, pony cart rides and a petting zoo. One can watch a demonstration of how cows are milked. Children can learn about nutrition and conservation. But one of the signature attractions that has earned Steed’s Dairy notoriety is its 5-acre corn maze, which opened for the season Oct. 2.

Steed says his late father was bewildered at the idea of a corn maze attraction but would be happy to see its success today.

“He said, ‘You mean to tell me that people are going to pay you to walk through a cornfield?’” said Steed. “I said, ‘Let’s hope they do!’”

The process of making the maze takes about  two to three weeks. Steed will draw up picture of his initial idea for design of the maze, gives that picture to a surveyor at EMC Engineering Services to digitally superimpose onto the picture on a photo of the cornfield. They will then line up the picture and photo as needed, and the surveyor will take GPS points, and plant flag points in the field in order to carve out the maze.

“It’s just a big connect the dots,” said Steed.

Each year the design, and the whole experience, is different. The last corn maze was themed “stay safe” with a cow wearing a mask; one year the maze was a tribute to Lady A. Some years, the maze is interactive with games and quiz questions as part of the journey. This year will be a map of the United States, in which travelers in the maze can “visit” each state.

The corn maze isn’t the only allure of Steed’s Dairy. According to Steed, it’s not even its primary one.

“I found that out when Hurricane Matthew blew down half the maze,” said Steed.

The damage done to the maze did not deter visitors in 2016. Kids were still able to enjoy the animals and activities such as the sandpile, the corn pit, which Steed describes as a “sandbox with corn;” air-compressed corn cannons, and what Steed says is the most popular pastime on the farm for kids, the jumping pillow.

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Whether providing children a place to learn that one’s food doesn’t just come from the grocery store, or giving space to adults to escape the peaceful atmosphere of the farmland, Steed’s Dairy Farm seems to have found a way to keep the land useful for its owners and its visitors after three generations.

“I’m not expecting every kid who comes here to become a farmer,” said Steed. “But at least they can become a voter, a housewife, maybe a politician, but they’ll get to know what it’s like to have a farm.”

Steed’s Dairy Farm is locate 4634 Wrightsboro Rd. in Grovetown. For more information on the corn maze and other activities, visit its website at www.steedsdairy.com or its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SteedsDairy/.

Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.