Eckert's Family Farms

The front of Eckert's Country Store and Farm pictured on a sunny day.

Belleville to make final payment on $975,000 in incentives for Eckert’s expansion

Teri Maddox

The most immediate and direct impact on local residents will be a 1% sales-tax reduction in the business district surrounding Eckert's Country Store and Farm just outside of Belleville.

Matt and Shauna Sweeney and their young daughter Ailish survey the corn maze from the bridge that’s located within it.

Arts

How 12 Acres Of Cornfield Became A Maze At Eckert’s Millstadt Fun Farm

Alex Heuer

Eckert’s Millstadt Fun Farm features an intricate corn maze. Hugh McPherson of Maize Quest joined “St. Louis on the Air” to talk about how corn mazes are designed and cut.

Jonathan apples are just one of many varieties available for picking at Eckert’s this season.

Health, Science, Environment

‘The Best Way To Experience An Apple’: Eckert’s President Offers His Picks, Insights

Evie Hemphill

The year 2020 has taken plenty of well-deserved criticism, but its pumpkin harvest is actually looking pretty good. That’s according to Chris Eckert, president of Eckert’s, which operates pick-your-own operations in Belleville, Grafton and Millstadt, Illinois. The company's pumpkin picking season got going last weekend, with apple picking also well underway. And if you ask Chris Eckert, there’s “no better way to grocery shop” right now than going outside and choosing produce straight from the source.

Customers browse fresh produce at Eckert's Country Store in Belleville. The store has been open throughout the pandemic, but the farms are slowly introducing summer attractions.

Economy & Business

Wash U Students Help Businesses Strategize To Navigate The Pandemic

Kae M. Petrin

Alivia Kaplan had big summer plans. She was set to fly home to Hawaii after her sophomore year at Washington University’s Olin Business School in St.…