Fred Seipt, who runs Freddy Hill Farms in Montgomery County, was able to expand his dairy farm without buying more land. Seipt opened a dairy store in 1972, later adding an ice cream parlor and ice cream production facility. In 1991, he and his family opened Freddy's Family Fun Center, an entertainment facility boasting a miniature golf course, a batting cage, and a petting zoo.

Fred Seipt never intended to become the ringmaster of Montgomery County agriculture. Although he admits he would much rather be "sitting on the tractor plowing fields," Seipt has gradually transformed his 160-acre dairy farm into a million-dollar entertainment complex where visitors can handle a Holstein, down a double-dip ice cream cone, slug a fastball inside a batting cage, feed a lamb in the petting zoo, or sink a putt on the miniature golf course.

"This all started about 15 or 20 years ago when we used to entertain school kids with tours every spring," Seipt recalls. "It was a PR thing. We wanted to show them we had milk to sell and give them a little ag education." From those early efforts, Freddy Hill Farms has grown slowly but steadily into a 250-cow dairy enterprise complemented by Freddy's Family Fun Center next to the farm. Growth has not been easy. Located in Landsdale, about 20 miles north of Philadelphia, the farm is just a 3-mile drive for 25,000 people in the vicinity. Poet John Donne said no man is an island, but Fred Seipt's farm sure is. The site is literally surrounded by housing developments, leaving no land available for expansion. With three sons and one son-in-law wanting to farm full time, Seipt faced a challenge. "Most farmers who want to bring their children into the operation simply expand the herd," Seipt explains. We didn't have enough land to do that."

What Seipt did have was a well-educated and enthusiastic workforce, most of whom were educated at Penn State. Fred, his three sons, and his son-in-law earned degrees in dairy science, and his two daughters graduated from Penn State as well. "I'll tell you, it was cheaper to educate them all than it was to find ways for them to support their families," he says. "They all wanted to farm."

In 1972, faced with the cost of sending five children to college, Seipt built a dairy store to market milk and ice cream. Later, he added an ice cream production facility. Nine years ago, Seipt and his sons added an ice cream parlor onto their successful store. "We soon learned that people are not price-conscious when it comes to entertainment," Seipt explains. In order to bring crowds out to the ice-cream parlor in the fall, the Seipts started a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. That soon evolved into a Harvest Days celebration on weekends, with pony rides, a cornstalk maze, hayrides, pumpkin picking, pig races, and other activities. The petting zoo, batting cages, and minature golf course were added in 1991. Seipt estimates the farm and dairy store bring in about 40 percent of the gross income, and the golf complex 60 percent. "Golf was a major investment for us, but my son Matt had researched it well," Seipt says. "This was the first time I ever had a banker convince me to take his money. Usually I have to do the convincing."

At each step in their expansion, the Seipts visited other farm operations to get business and entertainment ideas. "You have to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run," Seipt says. "The road wasn't smooth. We learned some hard lessons along the way. We opened a custom meat operation that we had to close because we just couldn't compete with the superstores." For now, Freddy Hill Farms is through expanding, although Seipt says he'd love to open a bed and breakfast. "I thought that would be a natural for us because I love to talk to people, but my wife refused because she'd have to make the beds and do the cooking."


–John Wall