URBANA, Ill. (RFD-TV) — Pumpkin growers faced challenges during this year’s growing season, but farmers still turned out a good crop.
University of Illinois Extension agent Nathan Johanning says no pumpkin shortages are expected.
“I think production has been good. They start harvesting even later in August because they have to get stuff started and start processing things and then get it and then has to go through the supply chain to get out to distributors and things so we can get it on our store shelves. The pumpkin crop was good. I don’t, they don’t foresee any issues with any shortages of pumpkin that you can find.”
Growers also dealt with heat and pest problems throughout the season.
“We always have cucumber beetles and squash bugs are always an issue. Most farms do have to spray for those just because not because they want to, but because they’re just very problematic, especially if you’ve grown pumpkins and those pests know where your pumpkin fields are at. They will find them sooner or later. Powdery mildew is a constant disease that we battle. There’s also some other bacterial spot and other issues. Some of those bacterial diseases are bad with heavy rain.”
Pumpkins remain a major crop nationwide. USDA’s research found production reached nearly 1.5 billion pounds in 2025, up 4% from 2024. Illinois was the top-producing state.
