Exeter - Govers Family Farm & Pumpkin Patch

Govers Family Farm & Pumpkin Patch is now an impressive fall attraction, complete with 9 acres of pumpkins, a 2-acre visitor area, a 10-acre corn maze and a retail space in a church that they now own, but still share with the congregation. 

 

All this from a COVID-era pumpkin growing project to amuse the kids. They started selling the pumpkins at the farm-gate, and found that their customers wanted to stay and engage with rural life, so the Govers ran with it, in addition to their crops and livestock on the mixed family farm.

 

Sarah Govers says that the project grew so quickly that in just their sixth season, they purchased a rural church that was adjacent to their farm to give them much-needed parking, washrooms, and a food and coffee booth, along with a space for visitors to warm up or dry off, as the case may be in a Huron County autumn weekend.

 

The opportunity to buy Sarah’s home church turned out to be a mutual benefit, as the small, rural congregation needed help to maintain the building, and the Govers are happy to host the services still.

 

The kids are now “pumpkin attendants” at the farm. Jason, Wyatt and Charlotte pick, wash, arrange and carry the pumpkins for the season that runs from around September 15 through to the end of October.

 

The corn maze was added in 2023, with husband Dave designing it. They skipped the maze in 2024, but added it back last year and again this year, with a few tweaks. For example, they have seeded the path in grass, which helped keep the mud down on wet days, making for a much more enjoyable experience for everyone.

 

From Monday to Friday, the pumpkins are available for purchase in a self-serve format. Guests are invited to visit, enjoy some lawn games and photo opportunities at no charge. Weekends are when it gets really exciting, though, with the corn maze open and wagon rides available for a small fee.($10 for adults, $5 for students and preschoolers are free). The Govers have special guests lined up, including a pop-up market, a reptile show on Oct. 17 and 18, and artist “Jack’s with Zac” will be offering pumpkin-carving classes on Oct. 24 and 25 (pre-registration required, email [email protected]).

 

In addition to the pumpkins, the farm also offers squash, gourds, straw bales and cornstalks - everything you need to transform your front porch into a fall cornucopia. And what farm would be complete without some livestock thrown in. The family raises goats and donkeys, and has cattle on pasture nearby, for the full bucolic aesthetic.

 

For all the information on the special events and hours, follow them on Facebook.71209 Elimville Line, Exeter.