How it all began

Kay & Donna Vaughan are the original founders of Maize Valley in the 1960’s.  Back then, the farm was predominantly a cash grain business, but there were also some hogs & beef cattle in the mix.  Kay & Donna were both teaching school full time, while they farmed and raised their family.  The three kids, Steve, Michelle, & Todd learned early in life what it meant to work long, hard hours.  The farm grew and thrived and eventually both Kay & Donna retired from teaching to devote themselves to the farm full time. The current farm was started by Kay & Donna Vaughan in the 1960’s and has undergone many transformations through the years. Originally they were hog farmers and grain farmers with more than 3,000 acres of various crops including their well known “super-sweet” corn, soybeans and wheat – in addition to milking 130 dairy cattle. Maize Valley Farm Market was started in the mid 1990’s by Kay and Donna’s daughter, Michelle, and her husband, Bill, as a seasonal produce stand that also had a corn maze in the fall. By November of 2000, the family knew it was time to expand and purchased a 140 year old barn located on an adjacent property.  The barn was the former home to an assortment of cows, pigs, horses and chickens.  Underneath layers of paint and whitewash, the family discovered gorgeous hand hewn beams and original cut stone wall.