Beggs Family Farm pumpkin patch preparing for opening weekend

SIKESTON, Mo. (KFVS) - Fall is finally here and many pumpkin patches across the Heartland are gearing up for opening season.

Beggs Family Farm in Sikeston, Missouri will open their gates for the fall season soon, and with that comes a lot of work and preparation.

”It’s always really exciting to get to invite everyone back,” said farm manager Bryce Beggs.

For 24 years, Beggs Family Farm has provided fun attractions for families in the community to enjoy.

This is a special year for Bryce Beggs.

“We’re gonna do a celebration with SEMO,” Bryce said. “We’re celebrating 150 years of Southeast University, so we have a special day Sunday and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”

[ Beggs Family Farm corn maze features SEMO Redhawks ]

Getting ready for the pumpkin season and the SEMO celebration has been tough.

Farmer Donnie Beggs has been growing pumpkins for decades. He said this year his crops have taken on some heat damage.

“The drought affected our pumpkins a whole lot worse any place that we couldn’t irrigate,” Donnie said. “The pumpkin crop is very, very slim and not very good pumpkins. Now where we can irrigate, we were able to make it through.”

Donnie said despite the challenges, the pumpkins are now growing strong.

“We planted more acres this year, so we still have plenty of pumpkins for the season we think,” Donnie said. “But you can tell that early, the drought and all and the heat probably affected this more than the pollination of them, so some of the pumpkins we do have are a lot bigger than normal.”

There are a lot of fun things for the community coming up at Beggs Family Farm and Bryce said being able to connect with families is something they look forward to every season.

“It’s always really special. We love having the farm open. We love inviting people out every year people come that have been coming for decades now,” Bryce said. “We’re just incredibly grateful for the community for supporting us and we just love to be able to give back and give this great place to them.”

Beggs Family Farm will kick off it’s opening season this Saturday, September 30.

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