Unconventional Farming

The story of century-old Jacob's farm

By Craig Manning | Oct. 2, 2021

It started more than 100 years ago, as a quaint family farm. Today, it’s one of the hottest family-friendly hangout spots in northern Michigan.

Such is the epic story of Jacob’s Farm, a 40-acre slice of gorgeous agricultural property off M-72, just minutes from Traverse City. For years, the farm has been a popular autumn destination, known especially for its meticulously designed corn maze. The fact that it’s right across M-72 from another wildly popular fall agritourism spot — Gallagher’s Farm Market, itself famous for some of northern Michigan’s very finest pumpkin donuts — hasn’t hurt.

In the past year, though, Jacob’s Farm has raised the bar. In 2020 – in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, when indoor dining, drinking, and hanging out felt most risky — Jacob’s offered a solution: A sprawling outdoor space, complete with picnic tables for the adults and playground structures for the kids, where families and friends could congregate safely. An indoor-outdoor bar, designed to mesh perfectly into a barn setting, offered local beer, wine, and spirits. You could even order food — including some world-class pizza options — and enjoy it all without ever having to set foot indoors. Live music, the corn maze, and even a dog-friendly menu helped tie the whole experience together.

Now in its second season, the new Jacob’s Farm is regularly one of the most hopping places in town. How did we get here, and what’s next for this growing epicenter of northern Michigan agritourism? We chatted with proprietor Mike Witkop to get the answers.

THE HISTORY
“The farm was actually acquired by my family in 1892, so we are recognized as a Michigan Centennial Farm,” Witkop said of the deep, deep roots of Jacob’s Farm. “Jacob was my great grandfather and the one that acquired the farm, and that's why we call our place Jacobs farm. So, it's been in the family for generations. My great grandfather had it, my grandfather, my dad, and now my wife and I.”

Back in the early days, the eponymous Jacob probably would never have dreamed of his farm property becoming the gathering spot it is now. In fact, in Jacob’s time, the farm was far enough off the beaten track that even the family had to be sparing with the trips it took back and forth to Traverse City.

“The majority of the activity at the farm was done for the family to have food,” Witkop said. “So Jacob had milk cows, he had beef cows and cattle, and he raised potatoes and corn and different things. They’d can [what they grew], put it up for the season, and then live off of it. I’m sure there was excess they would sell in the markets in Traverse City. But back in those days, traveling to Traverse City was a big deal. It was probably just a two-track road going in. I remember hearing stories that they would make their last trip into town sometime in October, and then they wouldn't be back in until spring. Because how do you move the snow?”

Over the years, Jacob’s Farm evolved from being a farm primarily meant to sustain a family to being a farm run more for commercial purposes. As other farms in the region specialized into cherries or apples, Jacob’s skewed more toward livestock. By the time Witkop was growing up on the farm in the '60s and '70s, he says it was primarily a cattle farm.

Those operations continued until the 1980s, at which point the farm mostly ceased operations for several years. Witkop’s parents tried leasing it to other farmers, but the property largely stood dormant. In the winters, it was even used for boat storage. But when Witkop purchased the farm from his mother 27 years ago, he says he had a vision for something new at the property. And while it took him a few years to bring that vision fully into focus, everything ultimately crystalized in the late 2000s when Jacob’s Farm opened its inaugural corn maze.

NOT YOUR DADDY'S CORN MAZE
2021 marks the 14th season of the Jacob’s Farm corn maze, which has become something of a hallowed autumnal tradition for northern Michigan families. And while corn mazes could often be lumped into the “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all” category, there’s frankly nothing quite like a Jacob’s maze.

“When I first landed on the idea of doing a corn maze, my research basically told me you could do it one of two ways,” Witkop explained. “You can either just plant corn, take a rototiller, drive around and make paths, and call it a corn maze. Or you can actually go into a design situation, which is what we opted to do. So we have a completely computer-designed corn maze. We work with a strategic partner out of Pennsylvania, and their artist pulls up our farm with the dimensions of our field, and then we talk to him about different ideas for the corn maze and what the design could be.”

Each maze has a theme, which plays out in both visual and educational ways. This year, the theme is Motown; last year, it was shipwrecks. In each case, the design itself – as visible from the air – is a visual representation of the theme. The inside of the maze, meanwhile, is set up with 18-20 checkpoints where guests learn facts or answer trivia questions about the theme. Witkop says the “educational interactive experience” is a big hit among kids and families, especially.

“The corn maze is designed in the winter using computer-aided drafting (CAD) and then we plant the corn [in the spring],” Witkop said. “We plant the corn in a pretty much normal fashion, but we plant it a lot thicker and a lot closer together, because we're really looking to create a canvas to create this artwork on. When they come to put the maze in, around Fourth of July, the corn is usually knee-high. They have our design in their computer, and they sync up with GPS; then they have a five-foot rototiller on the tractor and they follow the design. They can put about a mile of design in an hour, so the whole thing takes about five hours.”

A NEW CHAPTER
While the corn maze has been the bread and butter of the Jacob’s Farm agritourism business for a decade and a half — typically keeping the farm busy with guests from mid-August through early November — Witkop says he’s long felt “we had more we could do here on this farm.”

That instinct proved to be right on the money. Three years ago, Witkop started conversing with Troy Daily (founder of Traverse City’s Paddle for Pints and Kayak, Bike & Brew) and Nate Crane (co-founder of Rare Bird Brewpub) about how he might create a “family entertainment destination” on the Jacob’s Farm property.

The concept the trio came up with was ambitious. Witkop wanted to have a full kitchen, an open-air restaurant space, a wedding venue, and the opportunity to host live music. He also wanted to offer those things without impeding the corn maze and U-pick fruit operations that have become part and parcel with the Jacob’s Farm experience over the years. Finally, he wanted to do something “that protected the heritage of the farm and its history,” which meant finding ways to convert existing barn structures into a modern-day bar and kitchen and event and gathering spaces.

The concept seems to be working. After launching last fall, the new Jacob’s Farm will mark its first full season this year. It’s been a busy season, too: weddings in the barn; families packing the picnic tables on the lawn; kids playing on the play structures; live music on summer evenings; plenty of food and drink; and of course, a lot of people getting together and having fun, even amidst a lingering pandemic. Even though Witkop says he’s been dreaming of something like this for 20 years or longer, it’s hard to imagine a more apt time to launch an outdoor-centric business model than now, when being outside still seems like the safest and smartest option for most social activities.

THE FARM OF THE FUTURE
So what’s next? For now, Witkop is focused on finishing out the 2021 season strong. October is typically the busiest month at Jacob’s Farm, and Witkop anticipates a lot of families coming out to walk the corn maze, share a pizza, and enjoy the fall weather.

Longer-term, though, Witkop says he and his partners have some fun things in store. One is a partnership with Mammoth Distillery, which involves Jacob’s Farm growing special crops with the intent of Mammoth using them for specialty spirits. This season, the farm grew both an “heirloom corn variety from the 1900s” and a barley crop for Mammoth. In the future, Witkop would like to establish similar partnerships with other local businesses. Already, the farm is partnered with both Left Foot Charley and Silver Spruce Brewing, which create special varietals of wine and beer, respectively, for the Jacob’s Farm bar.

There are also plans in the offing to expand Jacob’s Farm as a space for larger events. Right now, Witkop says there is “a space on the back of the farm” that can accommodate larger events than the 100-125-person weddings it hosts in the barn. “We’d like to put a more permanent structure back there [on that part of the property], versus the tent [that we usually use].”

Mostly, though, Witkop wants to continue getting the word out about Jacob’s Farm as a place where everyone is welcome.

“We have a complete offering now,” Witkop said of the new Jacob’s Farm. “We really are focusing on targeting families and young couples. But invariably, I see plenty of my generation out here enjoying it too, and many times they are out here with their kids and their grandkids. I love seeing that.”