Our home state of Illinois is the largest producer of pumpkins in the US (Yes, we really do think that’s cool, ok?)

Sadly for you, it rained too much in the Sucker State and you probably paid a lot more for your pumpkins this year, says NPR.

“We had 24 inches of rain for two weeks at the end of August,” said Carrie Goebbert, owner of Goebbert’s pumpkin farm in South Barrington, Illinois. “So all of our pumpkins were set, and a lot of them (because of the warm night and warm days) were fully mature and ended up rotting in the fields. They were basically floating.”

She had to import pumpkins from Kentucky, New Mexico and Texas to meet demand; and raise prices from 35 cents to 39 cents a pound.

Still, her profits will be down substantially, Goebbert said.

“I know certainly in the surrounding farms — within 60 miles of our farm in every direction — had the same problem,” Goebbert said

In other news: The series of crazy rain storms split one of our Mom & Dad’s maple trees right in half. Sorry, nation, for the expensive pumpkins. Mother nature is fickle.

Pumpkin Prices at Premium [NPR]
(Photo:meghannmarco)

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