Sweet Corn

Save Mart and Fantozzi Farms Team to Tell Farm-to-Table Story

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 19:12:00 GMT

Each year more than 14,000 visitors come to the Fantozzi Farms Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch in Patterson, Calif. This year, the 10-acre maze not only offers fun for the whole family, it also tells a unique farm-to-table story starring The Save Mart Cos., the Central Valley grocer with deep roots in the Golden State.

“Our partnership with Save Mart this year has been such a positive experience,” says Denise Fantozzi, who co-owns Fantozzi Farms with her husband, Paul. “Save Mart has been a really important part of our community for years, and so everybody knows about Save Mart and partnering together — showing that pathway from the farm to the grocery store to the table — is something that we can all relate to.”

In the early 2000s, Fantozzi, a former schoolteacher, was looking to incorporate education into fun field trip experiences on the farm, and together with her farmer husband opened the first Fantozzi Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch in 2003.

While Fantozzi says they “started off small,” the agri-entertainment farm has added to the experience over the years with scarecrow contests, hayrides, corn hole tournaments, pumpkin painting and more. It also welcomes scores of school-age children through field trips that bring the farm-to-table message to life.

Fantozzi Farms welcomes scores of children on educational field trips.

(Photo courtesy of Fantozzi Farms)

“We started off just wanting people to come out and learn about farming and where their food comes from and have a fun time,” says Fantozzi. “And over the years we’ve added lots of attractions, and in the last few years, we’ve added events to involve the community more in what’s going on. And that is our goal, to provide the community with a safe, fun experience that they’re going to take a lot of memories away from.”

Fantozzi says the corn maze receives repeat visitors from near and far.

“I just love seeing families come back year after year,” she says. “Building that connection with the community, that’s the most rewarding part.”

Over the years, Fantozzi Farms has expanded the attractions in its agri-entertainment business.

(Photo courtesy of Fantozzi Farms)

In addition to corn and pumpkins, Fantozzi Farms grows watermelons, tomatoes for processing, apricots, almonds and alfalfa.

Over the years, Fantozzi says she’s become personal friends with many of the families who visit the farm, has watched their kids grow up and, in some cases, become employees at the corn maze in their teen years. And then there are those who visited as children who come back with kids of their own.

Fantozzi says the community created by the farm’s corn maze has fostered fun, friendships and even love.

“We’ve had two marriage proposals at the maze, and both of these couples, when they staged their proposals, told us it was because this is where they did a lot of their dating at our corn maze, and that’s where they made their special memories,” she says.

“This is ag storytelling at its finest, and it’s a connector,” says Save Mart’s Jenna Rose Lee.

(Photo courtesy of The Save Mart Cos.)

Building Memories on the Farm

An aerial view of the Fantozzi Farms and Save Mart corn maze reveals its breathtaking intricacies. How does a 10-acre corn maze spanning more than 5 miles of twisting paths and 12 hidden checkpoints come to be?

“We start off with our design. We think of what we want the design to be, and that’s really sketched out on paper or on the computer,” Fantozzi explains. “From the very beginning, we’ve had a company called Maze Play that comes out, and they have the equipment to cut the maze design, put in all the paths, and they use a small tractor with a rototiller behind it, and a GPS system. They cut those paths very exact, and the final maze looks just like the design we planned.”

This year’s corn maze, which features Save Mart branding integrated in the design, was the brainchild of The Save Mart Cos. Marketing and Social Media Manager Jenna Rose Lee.

“This is ag storytelling at its finest, and it’s a connector,” says Lee. “We wanted to showcase the relationship between the farmer and the retailer and the maze design does just that. It showcases the farm to the family table and the supply chain.

“In the design, you’ll see our logo, but then in addition to that, you see the tractor,” she continues. “There’s a big grocery cart in the middle, and then you also see a home. So, it’s really making that connection between how the food gets from the field to our shelves, to the grocery cart, and to your family’s dinner table.”

The corn maze also features one of Save Mart’s taglines: “Valley Proud.”

“What we wanted to showcase in this huge display, is that we are proud to be here. We’re not going anywhere. We’re ‘Valley Proud,’” says Lee. “We’re proud of our local farmers, and we love our community.

“We were founded in Modesto, Calif, and it’s part of who we are and where we are at the heart of the Central Valley, and it’s important for us to connect with our local farmers who stock our shelves,” she adds. “Partnering with Fantozzi was a true testament to being local and supporting our local farmers.”

Made for Social Media

Save Mart is also strengthening the connection between farm to table with a strategic social media campaign that shines a light on Fantozzi’s Farms’ fall bounty.

“Social media is truly how we’re connecting with our shoppers and how we’re learning more about our shoppers,” says Lee. “They love seeing where their food come from. That never gets old.”

Lee says just because you live in the Central Valley, doesn’t mean you’ve been to a farm or engaged with animals.

“I come from an ag background, but I am still learning about so many different crops,” she says. “I think it’s always going to be important to showcase local farmers and the crops that are grown here.”

A Robot on a Sweet Corn Label? How One Farm Showcases Agtech to Consumers

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 12:58:31 GMT

A new label appearing on Sunrise Select sweet corn in select Whole Foods stores shows a Greenfield Robotics’ machine at work in a cornfield. And that little detail carries a much broader message about the robotic weeding technology’s role in regenerative agriculture.

Fifth-generation grower Bill Kercher says adding the label to the produce his family grows on about 600 acres was a no-brainer. His family operates a U-pick farm and grows sweet corn, cabbage, summer squash, winter squash, apples, ornamental pumpkins, jack-o'-lantern pumpkins and painted pumpkins. His family also sells its produce through its Sunrise Produce brand.

Kercher says highlighting robotic weeding to reduce herbicide sprays is just part of a bigger focus on regenerative agriculture practices. He says he hopes using the robotic weeder will help increase his family farm’s soil microbiome with good microbes that will in turn feed the crops they grow.

“We’re doing everything we can to maximize the other kind of pillars of what regenerative ag is and to help improve our soil health on our farm,” he says.

Corn grown by the Kercher family and packaged under Sunrise Produce highlights how robotic weeding is used in farm’s production.

(Photo via Greenfield Robotics LinkedIn page)

Adding the label

Kercher says his family started kicking around the idea of adding a “Robot-Weeded” label to its sweet corn over the winter. He says this is the first produce commodity that has used Greenfield’s technology, so his farm was the first foray into a truly consumer-facing product.

He says the family worked with the Greenfield Robotics team to create the label, which reads “Robot-Weeded — Our farm uses autonomous robots from Greenfield Robotics to remove weeds for a cleaner, smarter way to farm.” The label comes with a QR code leading consumers to a webpage that discusses the benefits of robotic weeding on the Kerchers’ sweet corn, squash and pumpkins — less chemicals, healthier soil and fewer weeds.

Kercher says he notified certain retailers about the ability to add this label and promote the use of robotic weeders in the family’s sweet corn in lieu of herbicide applications, as well as to help promote Greenfield Robotics’ mission. He says he received many positive comments from retailers about the addition.

“They were ecstatic that we would be willing to do that,” he says. “We came up with a label, and the rest is history. We just decided to put it on the tray pack with that label, and it’s gotten a lot of very good reactions from both retailer partners and consumers.”

Kercher says the label’s QR code also allows consumers to submit questions and comments.

“Probably the biggest thing we’ve heard, and I quote from quite a few consumers — we’ve had many just reply with one word, and they’ll say ‘awesome,’” he says.

Kercher has also had consumers reach out who are investors in Greenfield Robotics and were happy to see the company’s logo on the sweet corn tray pack.

“To connect with consumers on the basis that they’ve invested in this company, and they’re seeing their investment come to fruition through the product that we’re putting on the shelf by using what they’ve invested in, is a pretty cool full circle for us and for Greenfield,” he says.

Bill Kercher says he’s seen yield increases and better quality sweet corn through the use of Greenfield Robotics’ robotic weeders.

(Photo courtesy of Bill Kercher)

Regenerative Focus

Kercher says regenerative agriculture started with his father, who wanted to reduce soil erosion and promote the overall health of the soil and the farm. His family plants cover crops on about 90% of its acreage, he adds, and that includes pollinator blends as well as ryegrass, tillage radishes and more.

“We’ve seen a lot of improvement in organic matter in our soils,” he says. “For anyone that’s planting cover crops, it’s a very long process, and it takes many years to improve the organic matter, but we are seeing a lot of improvements in the living soil characteristics.”

This includes a greater presence of earthworms, an increase in soil microbiome and more.

“Our soil is ultimately able to feed the plants better, and we can hopefully begin to reduce fertilizer applications as well,” he says.

Kercher says he’s seen a significant benefit from reducing his inputs this year through using the robotic weeders.

“It’s increased our yields,” he says. “It’s increased the quality of the sweet corn that we’ve gotten. We are learning every day about what we can do to reduce those chemicals, and it’s very encouraging to us that there’s a tool like Greenfield’s robots that will allow us to do that.”

He says adding the robotic weeding will play into his family’s plans to reduce tillage and increase the farm’s healthy soil.

Kercher says he sees a future where more consumers learn about and understand what regenerative ag means.

“When they see a farm engaging in regenerative practices, I think they’ll understand what that means for the soil on the farm,” he says. “They might understand what it means for the rivers, the reduced erosion of topsoil, the health of the surrounding ecological system, just due to the diversity of the plants that are growing in a regenerative system. And then, ultimately, they’ll begin to understand that it might mean more nutrient-dense food for them and their families.”

And he says that will encourage more growers to adopt regenerative practices.

“What we want retailers and consumers both to know is that we have a long-term vision for our farm and how it affects not just our family who lives on the farm, who works on the farm, but the broader community in which we live and those consumers who consume the produce we grow,” he says. “We want them to know that we’re doing everything we can to innovate with an eye toward regenerating the soil we’ve farmed for over 100 years, and this should be seen as our family trying every day to grow the best food that we can for ourselves and for those consumers who put our produce on their table.”

Next steps

Kercher says he plans to add some type of “Robotic Weeded” label to his family’s ornamental pumpkins this fall. While there’s not a lot of space on those labels, he says he’d like to drive consumers to learn more on the website.

His family will continue its partnership with Greenfield Robotics, he says, adding that he also plans to trial some of the company’s new technology next year.

“We are planning to work with Greenfield again, absolutely,” he says.