Fresh from the fryer: Apple cider donuts and fall harvest days are back at Weber's Farm in Parkville

PARKVILLE, Md. — Weber's Fall Harvest Days are back through Nov. 8, bringing with them fresh apple cider donuts, hayrides, and a slate of new features for families.

New this year is a tire maze, a larger wagon for the hayride tractor, and an updated barnyard. But the biggest addition may be the return of Pumpkinland, which hasn't been part of the farm's fall lineup in two decades.

"We are actually surprised sometimes with the people that say, oh I only live 10 or 15 minutes away but I've never been here before and we're like, well what, what were you waiting for," farm manager Jack Meyers said.

Meyers said the farm draws visitors who have been coming for generations.

"We're a community business. We have people that have been coming here since they were little kids and now they're bringing their grandkids here, so it's always great to hear those stories," Meyers said.

Those stories stretch back more than a century. Four generations of the Weber family have farmed the land since 1908, starting as fruit growers who sold their harvest door-to-door in Baltimore. Today, Weber's is home to Maryland's oldest continuously operating cider mill, which still presses fresh apples into cider.

Meyers has his own history at the farm. He grew up in Parkville and started working at Weber's 8 years ago.

"I grew up right up the street, so my mom told me to get a job and this was the closest place. I worked outside in the barnyard to start and then I started working in the produce department the following summer and then every year I just came back on my school breaks and then I came back full time. I got a degree in Agricultural Business the at University of Maryland and Weber's hired me back full time," Meyers said.

A spring frost hit Maryland farmers hard this year, damaging crops across the state. Weber's was not immune, but Meyers said the farm is adapting.

"There's nothing we can really do except for do that," Meyers said. "We still have a good crop of apples, not as much as usual, but we're not gonna run out."

That includes plenty of apples for the farm's popular cider donuts. Workers make the donuts fresh on-site, and the imperfect ones don't go to waste.

"Every single time I make a new batch of dough, there's always misshapen ones. They're going to go to waste anyways, sooo I gotta eat them," one worker said.

On the farm's busiest days, workers have produced up to 150 pounds of donuts in a single day.

For more information on the farm hours, click here.

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