LEWISBURG (WVDN) – Two young Greenbrier County farmers are branching out into their own fields.
The sons of former county commissioner, farmer, and former East agriculture teacher Woody Hanna, brothers Jack and Alex Hanna have been busy this summer growing their own various vegetable specialty crops.
One field visible in Renick is a couple acres of pumpkins and potatoes.
Jack Hanna says, “We planted about an acre and the harvest has been incredible. More than twice as many potatoes as we have been able to produce in the past. On harvest of half of the crop we have already 200 bushels for sale.”
He is selling at the Lewisburg Farmers Market on Saturdays at the Robert C. Byrd Clinic parking lot.
He also has the last pick from his brother’s sweet corn crop to sell this coming weekend, along with pumpkins they also grew.
Brother Alex Hanna will be opening The Hanna Farmstead on James Stuart Road, off Arbuckle Lane, this Friday.
This is the second year for their seasonal festival of harvest. Friday hours are 6-9 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sundays, 1-8 p.m., through Oct. 30.
Alex Hanna is excited.
He says, “This year we have a sunflower field, a sorghum maze and a corn maze. There are outdoor movies on Fridays at 7 p.m., and the concession trailer will be there with all the treats plus the famous pumpkin donuts.”
Learning from last year, they have purchased a donut machine which should do a better job of keeping up with demand for their well-loved pumpkin treats.
The two mazes are prepared in the early summer when the crop is short, and detail plant trimming can be done to create pictures visible from above, he says.
“We still need to get a drone to do a flyover and photograph it for us. There is a bee and beehive in this year’s design,” says Alex Hanna.
For movie titles and general information about the festival, you can check out their Facebook page for The Hanna Farmstead.
Directions from north of Lewisburg: on Rt. 219, across from the airport entrance, turn left on Arbuckle Lane and follow it to a stop sign, then turn right on James Stuart Road.
