Maize maze craze - MSNBC link

Images of President Bush, top, and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, make up a corn maze Sept. 20, 2004, in Pleasant Grove, Utah

Dean Sherman, a Manchester, Iowa, pumpkin-grower, created a three-acre maze designed as a winding vine around a jack-o'-lantern. “I saw on the Internet you could hire a company to make a maze for you for $2,000 to $5,000. We did it ourselves and have maybe $100 in it,� Sherman told The Gazette of Cedar Rapids. He spent three days laying out the design and carving it when the corn was a foot tall, using a weed trimmer.

But farmers might invest as much as $25,000 to $100,000 if they have their mazes professionally designed and cut, then spend money on marketing and staffing, MAiZE spokeswoman Kamille Combs told The Gazette. The investment could turn unprofitable if bad weather keeps customers away, but farmers who build the mazes have high expectations.

Maize Mazes