MACON—The late-summer heat is still sizzling away, but the time to get lost in fall farm activities is not far off.

 

Both food and fun can be found at Georgia Farm Bureau’s Certified Farm Markets, many of which offer corn mazes, hay rides, and hands-on agriculture activities like shelling corn or milking a cow as well as farm tours for school groups. Of course, there’s also the food. Apples are already available at many North Georgia orchards, and traditional fall crops like pumpkins will soon be ready.

 

 “We’ll have eight weekends of pick your own and lots of different varieties of apples. It’s going to be a good season in North Georgia,” said Tim Mercier of Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge, where a roadside market and restaurant offers a cornucopia of food, clothing and décor items. “It’s going to be a great opportunity to come to the mountains and enjoy all the activities on the farm.”

 

The Certified Farm Markets around the state offer a wide variety of farm-grown products, from apple cider to pumpkins and many others. 

 

“Visiting a Certified Farm Market is a great family activity,” said GFB President Zippy Duvall. “It’s a good way to get people to come to the farm and see what’s happening there.”

 

For a complete listing of the GFB Certified Farm Markets, visit http://www.gfb.org/commodities/cfm/default.html.