Barton County Farm Bureau President Roger Long grew up on a farm in Washington County and earned a degree in agronomy from K-State. He moved to Great Bend in 1991 after accepting a job with a chemical company.

The Long Pumpkin Patch, located northeast of Great Bend, started when Roger and his wife Dana wanted to grow something with value but didn’t want to invest in expensive harvesting equipment.

Before moving the business to the current location at 163 NE 30 Road in 2011, Long looked at the empty lots around his house and got permission from the landlord to grow pumpkins there. He started with half an acre and now has around four acres that have evolved into an agri-tourism business. In addition to selling pumpkins, he has a quarter-acre of blackberries and also grows some sweet corn and tomatoes to sell at the site and at farmers markets.

Customers can pick pumpkins from the vines, with sizes ranging from big candidates for jack o’lanterns to tiny gourds. Other attractions are a gourd launcher, corn maze, bale fort, culvert swing and corn pit.

Long said his business qualifies as agri-tourism, even if most of the business is local.

“As far as pumpkin patches go, we are on the smaller side,” he said. However, its features make it a popular destination for the Golden Belt. “ I survey the parking lot, and about one-fourth of the vehicles are from out-of-county.”

The Pumpkin Patch’s 2026 opening day will be Saturday, Sept. 26, and it will be open Saturdays and Sundays through Halloween. Field trips are available from Sept. 28 through Oct. 30. The barn can be booked for meetings or private parties year round.

The corn, tomatoes and berries become available around mid-July.