Candace Monaghan never strayed far from the farm she grew up on in western Virginia. Beaver Dam Farm has been in her family for generations, but over the years, debt had started to pile up.

“Farmers are always like, we'll catch up next year,” said Monaghan. “And that never really happened.”

So, she came up with a solution: start a festival to help diversify the farm’s income and help pay off that debt.

“Surely if people will pay to walk through dead corn in corn mazes, they would pay to walk through beautiful sunflowers.”

The Beaver Dam Farm Sunflower Festival now attracts thousands of visitors to the farm every year.

“It’s helped us pay things off.”

To hear the rest of Monaghan’s story, click the audio player above.