Hamilton County farm expects thousands at annual Sunflower Festival

SHERIDAN, Ind. (WISH) — Stuckey Farm Orchard & Cider Mill owner Jeff Pierce began planting sunflowers three years ago with the goal of attracting more business over the often quiet Labor Day weekend.

“It’s still summer, so people usually travel or they’re doing summer things still. They aren’t quite ready for fall,” said owner Jeff Pierce.

Pierce says he saw farmers in different parts of the country holding sunflower festivals and recognized the crowds the yellow flowers drew.

“We have photographers, people come and they take videos and edit their videos, people do their family portraits here,” Pierce added.

Stuckey Farm in Hamilton County now has 7 acres dedicated to more than 20 varieties of sunflowers, and business has been good.

But this year, Pierce is expecting larger crowds for its Sunflower Festival with less people traveling and more people looking for outdoor activities.

“We could see 4,000 to 5,000 over the three days, which is higher than usual,” Pierce said.

Pierce also says the farm has plenty of space for social distancing, but they are asking people to wear masks in the front store or when walking to and from the fields.

General admission is $13.50 and includes access to the sunflower festival as well as getting to pick and take home one sunflower.