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a small amount of animal feed for a fee ($0.25 - $1.00) so children can feed the goats. In some cases this is done by putting the purchased feed in a can fastened to a cable. Then, with the aid of pulleys, the food is transported up to a feeding station at the top of the pathway where the goat eats it. Some farms use gum-ball dispensers (called bulk vendors) that offer animal feed for $0.25. Others sell ice cream cones full of animal feed ($1.00) which the children can feed to the goats by hand. With all the concern about children coming into contact with the new potent strains of E.coli, it may not be a good idea to allow children to touch animals. Also, although goats have a reputation for not biting children, they are animals and accidents do happen.

Make-your-own scarecrow – This is a nice family activity. The farm gets used clothing (shirts, pants, hats etc.) from Goodwill or Value Village, etc. These stores will often sell them by the pound after they have been unsuccessful selling them. The farm makes, or provides the tools to make, a head out of burlap, old pantyhose or a white plastic bag. Participants can glue or draw on eyes, ears, nose and mouth. The farm also provides straw to stuff the scarecrow and twine to be used as suspenders, to tie the two parts together. If the scarecrows are meant to stand up, a wooden cross can be provided or sold separately. This activity usually costs around $15 - $20 per scarecrow and does not lend itself to being lumped into the general admission fee.

Admission for Groups & Families

Do you give special consideration to groups of more than 15 or 20 people? A group rate will help attract cub or

brownie troops, church groups, day cares, etc. Offer a discount where everyone gets 20 to 25 per cent off if the group is over a certain number and they have made arrangements by contacting the farm before they arrive. A big advantage to enticing groups is that they may be interested in group attractions, such as renting a campfre ($1/person, minimum $50) or having a hotdog picnic package ($4/person). So what you may lose on the lower admission, you can make up in the other services you offer.

Another consideration is giving a special rate for large families. If we look at Canadian demographics, each age group represents a percentage of the population. The Corn Maze – Decision Making Tool uses these demographics to predict what will happen to your revenue if you give different groups a special admission rate.

The calculator separates:

• the percentage of the population that each age group represents between ages 0 and 19

Example:

You intend to attract 1,000 people to your maze. Let’s assume that:

• children ages 0 to 4 are free • children 5 to 12 are $4.50 • seniors 60+ are $6.50 • families are charged $24.00 • everyone else is $7.50 The calculator will then separate out:

• the 8.4 per cent of the population that are 0 to 4 yrs. old and attribute $0 income from them • the 14.5 per cent of the population that are 5 to 12 and show you the effect if they are charged $4.50 each

• the 16 per cent of the population that are families with more than two children (it assumes these families average 5.5 people) and charge them $24.00

• the 6.4 per cent of the population that are 60+ and the effect of charging them $6.50 each • the rest of the population (70.7 per cent) that will be charged the adult rate of $7.50

• families with more than two children • seniors beginning at either age 60 or 65

So when you choose to give a specifc price to a specifc age group, the calculator can calculate how this will affect your gross revenue from admissions. For any of these groups that you don’t use, the calculator automatically lumps them into the adult category and charges them the adult price.