Our History
On January 1st, 1980, Henry & Susan Sink purchased the farm as a working dairy operation from Edwin & Edna Keith. The operation was renamed Sinkland Farms and the new owners prepared to settle in. Henry, with his degree in Dairy Science from Virginia Tech, and Susan, with her passion for education, nature, and conservation, both eagerly awaited the transfer of ownership on New Year's Day. Evidently, Mr. Keith was also rather excited, for he forgot to lock the main barn gate after his final milking on the last day of the year. Just several hours into their new adventure, and with Henry prepared to rise early for his first milking, he and Susan were startled by a middle-of-the-night doorbell ring. In the doorway stood a Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy, and behind him the entire milking herd in the front lawn- with a few cows ambling down Route 8 bound for Riner. The Sinks learned early on that they were in for an adventure.
With the dairy operation under way the Sinks began to diversify the farm, experimenting with u-pick strawberries, Christmas trees, hay and straw production, vegetable sales, and eventually beef cattle. In the second decade they started growing pumpkins, and held the first annual Sinkland Farms Pumpkin Festival in 1994. The event has grown over the years, and in 2008 it was attended by an estimated 35,000 people during the five-week period that it was held.
Seeing the early success of the pumpkin festival, and with milk prices dropping and overhead costs on the rise, the Sinks decided to shift the farm toward education and agri-entertainment. The dairy operation ended in 2005, and the farm moved exclusively to pumpkins and beef cattle. Sadly, Henry Sink passed away in 2007. Susan and their children continue to build the legacy of Sinkland Farms and its focus on entertainment and environmental and agricultural education.
Calendar of Events
