Glenboro’s Crop Art scores big with Jets

Local farmers Riley Jefferies and Chad Berry combine technology, teamwork and a little creativity to turn a Glenboro cornfield into a community attraction.

And now there is a little bit of Winnipeg Jet’s pride growing south west of Glenboro and it isn’t coming from the hockey rink.

It’s growing right out of the ground.

For the past three years Riley Jefferies and Chad Berry of Under The Hill Farms have teamed up to combine modern agriculture technology with a healthy dose of creativity, turning a cornfield into a free community attraction.

This year the attraction caught the attention of the Winnipeg Jets.
Jefferies planted a giant Winnipeg Jets logo into a roughly four acre section of a 30 acre cornfield near the Glenboro Fairgrounds. His brother Cale, posted an aerial photo of the crop on social media, tagging the Jets.

The team noticed.

A post mentioning Glenboro and along with the photo from the Jets propelled the photograph into the spotlight, bringing the local project plenty of attention online.

“It gained a lot of traction online,” said Riley, who added that the Jets reached out on the public social media content.

While the Jets logo may have stolen the spotlight, there is much more to see in the field.

The project also includes a five to six acre corn maze, offering residents and visitors a chance to enjoy a little adventure while taking in an impressive example of agriculture technology.

The maze began 3 years ago with a simple goal: to showcase what modern agriculture can do while giving people in Glenboro and the surrounding area a free, fun activity.

And the location is ideal. Situated near the Glenboro Fairgrounds and ball diamonds, the maze is easily accessible for fairgoers and visitors catching a game of ball or staying at the campground.

Last year, the maze was planted north of Glenboro along Highway 2 in the Grow Glenboro field; a fundraising initiative with proceeds divided among the Glenboro Rink, Glenboro Minor Sports and a chosen area community project.

Although the field is not part of Grow Glenboro project this year, the partnership between Jefferies and Berry continues. The field has moved to a different location due to regular crop rotation.

Behind the scenes each person has a role, Riley takes care of the planting using agriculture technology, his brother Cale leads the promotion and Berry provides the field.

Together they have created something that is equal parts agriculture, technology, community spirit and entertainment.

And this year, their cornfield managed to score a little extra recognition from Manitoba’s favourite hockey team.

For a project that started with the simple idea of giving people something fun to do, and that’s one heck of a harvest.

And yes, the Jets have received numerous invitations to take a walk through themselves.

PHOTO CAPTION: Just north of the Glenboro fairgrounds is a corn field that holds some surprises; there is a corn maze that everyone can enjoy as well as a large Winnipeg Jets logo that has been getting a lot of attention. PHOTO SUBMITTED