Three decades ago, when Kelly Schultz announced his intention to start a pumpkin farm, "everybody laughed at me," he says. Schultz, a second-generation antique seller, had no prior experience with farming when he bought a small farm in Clarence, New York, in 1993.
Nobody thinks he's out of his gourd now.
Schultz, 74, is the owner and operator of The Great Pumpkin Farm, a seasonal attraction about 15 miles northeast of Buffalo that draws over 100,000 visitors each fall.
The Great Pumpkin Farm brought in $2 million in annual revenue in 2025, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It — and it's open just seven weeks a year.
This year, the farm is open to visitors between Sept. 19 and Oct. 31, and they're not just coming to buy pumpkins. With a $20 weekend admission ticket, fall enthusiasts can ride the farm's pumpkin-themed train, explore its giant corn maze and compete in pie-eating contests, among other attractions.
Halloween is big business for Schultz and other seasonal business owners. Halloween-related spending is expected to reach $13.5 billion in the U.S. in 2026, according to a consumer survey by the National Retail Federation published in September. Among the 74% of Americans celebrating the holiday this year, 42% said they plan to carve a pumpkin.
At The Great Pumpkin Farm, "attendance is increasing just about every year," according to Schultz.
During the fall, "there are people that come here almost every weekend," he says. "They love it so much, they just keep coming back."
A giant pumpkin put them 'on the map'
Schultz, who runs an antique store and an antique auction business year-round, says he was inspired to start his farm after visiting a pumpkin patch in upstate New York in the early 1990s. That farm had "muddy parking lots and not a whole lot of restrooms," he recalls, but there were "a zillion people" walking around and buying pumpkins.
"I looked around and I said, 'I could do this, better than this,'" Schultz says. So when the old cow farm next to his antique store went up for sale, he bought the 85-acre property for approximately $650,000, he says.
With the help of other local farmers, Schultz learned how to grow his own gourds, and The Great Pumpkin Farm officially opened in 1996. But Schultz had even bigger plans for his farm. That same year, he asked Ray Waterman, founder of the World Pumpkin Confederation, an organization dedicated to growing giant pumpkins and squash, to host his annual World Pumpkin Weigh-Off at The Great Pumpkin Farm.
Schultz bought prize indemnity insurance, which covers the cost of contest and promotion prizes, and offered $50,000 to anyone who brought in a pumpkin that weighed 1,000 pounds or more. He took out ads in papers "across the country" to promote the weigh-off. The winning pumpkin, grown by a couple from Lowville, New York, broke the world record at the time at a whopping 1,061 pounds.
The Great Pumpkin Farm hosted its first pumpkin weigh-off in 1996.
Courtesy of Kelly Schultz
"We were in magazines and newspapers all over the world," Schultz recalls. "That put us on the map right off the bat."
The Great Pumpkin Farm still hosts a weigh-off event every October, and this year's heaviest pumpkin weighed a whopping 1,908.5 pounds, almost double the weight of the 1996 winner.
Hay rides, pumpkin cannons and more
These days, Schultz focuses less on growing gourds — to keep up with demand, he purchases most of the farm's pumpkins from nearby farms. But The Great Pumpkin Farm's 50-foot pumpkin pyramid, which is visible from the road, is still the first thing that incoming visitors see. According to Schultz, the farm stocks over 25,000 pumpkins each year.
Visitors pick out pumpkins to purchase at The Great Pumpkin Farm.
William Muench | CNBC Make It
Weekend visitors pay $20 per ticket, which covers admission for both days. They can access a vast range of activities including hayrides, pie-eating contests, magic shows, a giant slide, live music, train rides, a kid-friendly "boo barn" and pumpkin pedal kart rides, just to name a few.
For an extra fee, visitors can try the farm's amusement rides, pumpkin cannons, zombie paintball train, carnival games and Buffalo Bills-themed corn maze. Alongside the farm's bar and bakery, Schultz hosts festival food vendors whose offerings range from barbecue to specialty grilled cheese sandwiches.
"You can come out here and spend the day and still not have done everything," he says.
Weekdays require no admission charge, and are more low-key. Visitors can purchase pumpkins, visit the Halloween store, bar and bakery, and enjoy the outdoor playground, petting zoo and hay maze.
Schultz brings in petting zoo animals for the farm's fall festival.
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Creating this fall festival requires a huge amount of labor, according to Schultz. He employs over 100 seasonal workers during the seven weeks the farm is open each year, and their job duties range from driving tractors for hay rides to serving pumpkin donuts.
Rising gas costs are another major expense, Schultz says: It takes "lots and lots of gallons of fuel" to maintain the grounds and operate tractors for the hay rides. Since Schultz tries to avoid raising admission costs, he predicts that the business will "make a little bit less" in 2026.
"The business has been profitable, but we generally take most of the money and try and put it back into it," Schultz says.
For an extra admission fee, the farm also offers amusement rides and carnival games.
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Because Schultz owns the land surrounding the farm — approximately 300 acres in total — there's always room to expand, he says. Each year, he aims to add "something new, something fun, or upgrade what we already have."
Creating a 'generational business'
The farm has grown into a family operation: Schultz's son Ben has helped him run it, and his antique businesses, for the last 25 years.
"I just like hanging out with my dad, so that's how I got involved in all this," says Ben Schultz, 45. "I'm very proud of what he created here, and I'm just happy to be a part of it."
Their shared goal for The Great Pumpkin Farm, according to Ben Schultz, is to "continue the momentum." From the farm's simple beginnings, "it's hard to imagine that it's gotten as big as it has," he says.
Kelly Schultz's grandchildren have also started to help out around the farm, he says.
"They love coming here," he says. "They all want to be here all the time, every day."
"I'm sure that the pumpkin farm will be a generational business," he continues. "It's definitely a family event."
Kelly Schultz and his son Ben in front of The Great Pumpkin Farm's pumpkin pyramid.
William Muench | CNBC Make It
Throughout October, the farm is buzzing with activity, but after Halloween, everything shuts down, according to Schultz. The petting zoo animals go back to their original farms; the amusement park rides are packed up and removed, and pig farmers pick up the remaining pumpkins to use for feed. Putting everything away and cleaning up the property takes approximately a month, Schultz says.
For the rest of the year, around 20 full-time staff help maintain the Great Pumpkin Farm's old barn buildings and keep the grass mowed.
Otherwise, it's back to selling antiques for Schultz and his family — at least until next fall.