Growers: Perfect year for Illinois pumpkins

It's a good year to find the perfect pumpkin.

After an essentially average summer, officials at the Illinois Department of Agriculture said this year's pumpkin crop is “just fine.”

Jim Angel of the Illinois State Climatologist's office said aside from some extra rain in July, this summer did not produce much extreme weather that would threaten the overall pumpkin crop.

“Of course crop outcomes vary depending on the local conditions, but this is nothing like a couple of years ago when they had troubles because it stayed so cool and wet during both the summer and fall,” Angel said.

And that's important for the Illinois' $23 million pumpkin industry.

Farmers here grow two types of pumpkins: pumpkins for processing into canned filler, which tend to be sweeter and tan in color; and ornamental pumpkins that we use for carving jack-o-lanterns.

Our state supplies about 95 percent of the nation with processed pumpkin and produces more pumpkins than any other state, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Last year, Illinois harvested 15,100 acres of pumpkins, according to a 2010 Vegetables Summary issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That's more than double any of the total acres harvested in the other largest-growing states: Ohio, Michigan, California, New York and Pennsylvania.

Tom Feltes, owner of Sonny Acres Farm in West Chicago, said Illinois is in an especially good position this year after Hurricane Irene damaged crops on the East Coast.

“They are importing pumpkins from as far as California, so that's putting pressure on wholesale prices,” he said. “But that doesn't affect us. Crops are good this year and there's absolutely no shortage.”

Feltes said prices at his pumpkin farm are the same as last year at 39 cents per pound.