Dutch Hollow Farms leaves Riverbank. Where it’s going, what to expect when it reopens
Have you ever tried picking up a whole farm and move it four miles away?
Well, John Bos, known as Farmer John to friends and customers alike, is attempting to do just that as he moves his popular Dutch Hollow Farms attraction from its original Riverbank location to a new, permanent site in Modesto off Milnes Road. The relocation has been long in the works, since Bos has leased the land where he founded the farm across from the Crossroads shopping center in Riverbank since 2006.
That space is slated to be turned into Crossroads West, a massive new housing and retail development that would swallow up much of the acreage across from the existing Riverbank shopping center.
His Oakdale Road site closed Nov. 1, and work is now underway to turn his family’s defunct dairy into a welcoming tourist attraction with a working farm attached.
The Milnes Road property belongs to his parents and is where Bos grew up. His family worked the farm since 1982 when they moved to Modesto and at one point had some 450 milking cows. But the dairy stopped operating full-time about three years ago. Now the 62-acre ranch is being transformed into what Bos hopes will be an even bigger and better Dutch Hollow Farms.
For the past 14 years, Bos and his Dutch Hollow Farms (a nod to his family’s Dutch heritage) have welcomed Central Valley residents to enjoy its tulip and flower fields, animal encounters and fall pumpkin festivities.
In the new larger space, he plans to set permanent roots and upgrade many of his existing attractions while adding more. Bos wants Dutch Hollow Farms to be a fun agricultural experience for families, where they can pick their own flowers, take trolley rides through the fields, pet baby animals, and play on its various rides and games.
Family dairy farm being transformed as attraction
But first, there’s a lot of old dairy farm to transform. Bos plans to keep many of the existing structures and turn them into a barn for his baby animals, a shack for his retail sales, a place to hold craft fairs and put out his annual pumpkin displays and more.
Bos made the decision to move this year, despite being able to stay on the leased Riverbank property until next May while the development unfolds, so he could start building up his base in his forever home. Also his normal Christmas tree vendor also canceled this year, making the decision to close early easier. He plans to reopen in the spring, about mid-March in time for his popular Baby Animal Days.
“It was in my best interest to transition over the winter and start on a new slate next year,” Bos said. “I didn’t want to confuse everyone midway through the year that we’d be out here instead of in the fall.”
Admittedly, the new location isn’t on as well-trafficked a road or near a big retail draw like his Riverbank spot. The farm is about half a mile east on Milnes Road off Claus Road. But Bos believes he has built up enough of a loyal following in the last 14 years and on social media to still bring people to the more off-the-beaten-path site. He also said its proximity to the Amtrak station, whose trains can be seen whizzing by regularly, could be a boon in the future.
The new site also has space for more animals and his petting zoo. You can expect his flocks and herds to more than double. He had some 75 animals on the old site, and hopes to have more than 200 animals of 40 different species in the new place from cows and sheep to goats and chickens and much more.
He’ll also expand his tulip fields — he plans to plant 165,000 bulbs soon. He is also adding more daffodils and sunflowers to the mix, and there should be you-pick strawberry and possibly blueberry fields coming, too.
Expect to see a larger entertainment and activities area. That means doubling his number of ziplines, adding more pumpkin/tennis ball cannons and creating a new trike track. He even wants to utilize one of the dairy’s existing ponds and turn it into a paddle boat area. Already his farm’s ducks call it home.
But what Bos is most passionate about is giving families a glimpse into real farm life, from picking their own berries and flowers to milking cows and possibly sheep and goats.
“This was a great place to grow up and I’m excited to be able to teach hundreds and thousands of kids about farming here in the future,” Bos said. “Educating our youth is so important — our children need to know where food comes from. It’s fun to have activities and to play games, but we will be a working educational farm.”
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
