The below average rainfall experienced in Indiana this year affected pumpkin yields, but didn’t cause a shortage, according to a professor at Purdue University.
Stephen Meyers, an assistant professor of weed science in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University, said pumpkin yields may be slightly below average but there are plenty of pumpkins to meet demand.
Indiana is one of the nation’s largest pumpkin producers, cultivating around 6,000 acres each year. The majority of Indiana’s commercial pumpkin crop is sold into the “fresh market,” meaning a consumer buys the whole pumpkin the way it comes off the vine rather than processed into consumables like canned pumpkin or pumpkin seeds.
Meyers says drought conditions in June delayed pumpkin harvesting in some areas but did not result in a major shortage.
Pumpkin growers in the Radius region include Lark Ranch in Loogootee, Bledsoe Farms in French Lick, Ratkovich Farms, Hoffman Farms and Pinhook Pumpkins in Lawrence County.
Adam Lark said Lark Ranch had one of the best pumpkin crops in years.
“They came in great this year and one of the better years we’ve had. I know some other growers in Vincennes were really hurting,” he said.
An employee of Bledsoe Farms also reported having a good growing season.
One change Lark has noticed is consumers favoring non-orange varieties.
We do a wide variety of pumpkins and gourds,” he said. “This year we had a ton of green ones come in and they were unbelievably popular and the white is almost more popular than the orange.”