Lazy O Farm - Smithfield

The Farm does not have its own website but you can find information about it here.

   
        Lazy O Farm is what I call a tourist farm. The main purpose of the Farm is to provide an experience for visitors and the actual crops grown all contribute to that visitor experience. For example, one of the crops occupying a whole field is a form of corn which is grown for animal consumption and to create a corn maze for October visitors. The main draw for visitors in early summer is a chance to get up close and personal with a variety of farm animals. At Lazy O you can get close to goats, horses, calves, donkeys, sheep, pigs, chickens, a tortoise, a rabbit, and a turkey.

       Lazy O does most of its business hosting field trips for school groups, but during the months of June and July, Fridays are set aside for families of any size to visit by appointment. The Farm also opens to families on Saturdays in October. Admission is $5 for adults and kids over two. Your time at the farm is self-led but there are plenty of staff members around to direct you and all of the staff we encountered were extremely nice. Once you've visited all of the animals you can get on a hayride or let your kids play on the playground. Two of the slides on the playground are made from industrial drainage pipe and so they feel like tunnels and they shoot riders out wicked fast.

     Some things you need to know about Lazy O.....

1. You're going to need a GPS to find it because there are no signs to direct you. My GPS had no trouble leading us right to it.
2. There are no bathrooms at the Farm, only porta-potties which my five year-old refuses to use.
3. You have to make an appointment to come, even on Fridays in June and July. Call (919) 934-1132 or email dtdjthompson@centurylink.net

      I think I had more fun petting the animals than my kids did. My daughter decided she did not want to touch the pigs because they were too dirty. But even my nine month-old enjoyed sticking his little hand out to pat a goat's nose.

      My kids' favorite part of the Farm was the milking demonstration. The demo consists of a wooden cow with a ten-gallon bucket full of water for an under-belly. The bucket has "udders" on its' bottom that kids are encouraged to milk. For some reason, this just captivated my five and two year-olds and they kept coming back to it over and over again.

The milking cow.

       You can see all of what Lazy O has to offer, and take the hayride, in about an hour. But you could linger longer especially since there is a designated picnic area for a leisurely lunch. If you're in the surrounding Smithfield area, Lazy O is great for a petting zoo fix. If you're coming from a longer distance you might want to wait until October to enjoy the expanded festivities of pumpkin picking and the corn maze.