While many patiently wait for fall and the pleasantries that come with it — cooler weather, pumpkin patches and apple picking — students in the Texas A&M Agronomy Society work to make a local staple of the season come to life.
The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Corn Maze has been an annual tradition for more than a decade, and students have been braving the early fall heat to make the 2025 rendition a reality.
Planting the foundation
Work begins over summer break when the plot is tilled and seeds are planted. Throughout the summer, the few students still in town tend to the maze and oversee irrigation, fix water leaks and combat weeds.
By the time fall semester begins and students arrive on campus, it’s all hands on deck, with 10-15 students working each week to prepare the maze for its late October opening.
Cutting work begins
First, students work on the heart of the maze that can only be fully seen from above — the Texas A&M logo. The maze is built around it.
Members start by hammering t-posts into the soil to mark the endpoints and corners of the “A,” the oversized “T” and the “M.” Then, string is tied to each post to guide their cutting, which begins once the corn reaches its desired height.
Once the logo is completed and the corn begins to tassel, paths for the maze are ready to be cut. A network of twists and turns, dead ends and loops is mapped over an aerial photo, which is used as a guide. Stalk by stalk, the maze begins to take shape.
Ayden Castillo, corn maze administrative chair, said aerial photography makes the process of plotting and cutting more accurate.
“Having the drone at our disposal has helped us tremendously with having a more precise logo, and to keep the paths aligned,” said Castillo, who is minoring in agronomy.
A learning opportunity
With cutting complete, hay bales, signage and other seasonal décor are placed around the maze exterior. Decorations also feature educational demonstrations showcasing equipment used in agriculture, said Agronomy Society president Hallie Cook, a plant and environmental soil science senior.
“We’re really trying to focus on educating the public,” Cook said, “For example, our cotton gin demonstration shows how a crop grown in the Brazos Valley is processed into the fiber that we wear.”
Once the finishing touches are made, the maze is ready for opening day. For two weeks, visitors can lose themselves within the towering corn stalks as they venture through the product of the student’s hard work, sweat and passion for the tradition.
The students hope the maze can spark interest in agriculture and showcase the planning and hard work of Agronomy Society members to make it a reality.
“It’s all about bringing the community together,” Castillo said. “We’re able to put on this activity a couple weeks out of the year and show them what we’re passionate about.”
The maze is open on Halloween night from 4-11 p.m. and on Nov. 1-2 from 1-7 p.m.
