GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — 30 years ago, the Fister brothers of Bi-Water Farm got a wild idea to open their farm to the public and let their patrons pick their own pumpkins.
What began as a couple of hayrides through their farm, is now an elaborate agritourism destination, complete with playgrounds, food, and of course, a lot of pumpkins.
They didn’t know it at the time, but agritourism would explode across the country. In Kentucky alone, there are hundreds of farms offering agritourism experiences, from orchards to markets to pumpkin patches.
“The good thing about this is that I rely on nobody,” said Stephen Fister. “From the beginning, I grow the plants, and I actually sell them to the consumer. I control the whole supply chain. That’s what it amounts to.”
When it comes to this type of farming, pumpkin patches in particular are catching on.
“We've seen the growth in the pumpkin market increase 4-5 times from where it was, even from 2019 to 2024, where we are today,” said Tim Woods, extension professor and specialty crop specialist for UK.
Woods told LEX 18, “We were just a tiny player before, now we're having more folks looking to Kentucky for pumpkins.”
According to Woods, produce auctions based in Kentucky are supplying an increasing amount of pumpkins to agritourism sites across Kentucky and neighboring states.
“There’s a lot of consumer interest in agritourism and a lot of interest in the home decorating experience of agriculture,” said Woods.
Backing up that point, Fister picked up a flat pumpkin and stacked it on top of another, demonstrating the creative displays many of his patrons put together using Bi-Water pumpkins.
With more people buying more pumpkins, and more farmers looking to fill that demand, research at UK is being done right now on pumpkin varieties, growing practices, and disease resistance.
“Research like that helps them get the best quality product they can into the marketplace,” said Woods.
