Stores now boast the iconic pumpkin and mum display outside with the bins of pumpkins inside, but reports say there are fewer to choose from this year with a shortage impacting pumpkin harvests.
“Droughts and heavy rain diminished some crops,” ABC News said. “Vibrant orange gourds are a signature mark of the start of autumn, but the perfect fall pumpkin could be harder to find this season as farmers warn of shortages due to weather.”
Kentucky and Texas will be the states most impacted by the diminished pumpkin crops.
Throughout the summer, Texas and much of the Southern Plains experienced high temperatures and drought conditions with little rain to provide relief.
“The Texas drought monitor map, produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska, showed increased drought conditions during the last three months and the previous year overall,” AgriLife Today said.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, for pumpkins to grow steadily, they need one inch of water per week. The National Weather Service reported a total of 2.08 inches from June to Sept., the peak growing season.
On the flip side, parts of Kentucky are seeing a shortage of the fall favorite because they had too much rain.
“In Paducah, Kentucky, summer heat was followed by heavy rains that amounted to 200% of their normal annual rainfall in the last three months,”ABC News said.
Nathan Huyck, the owner of Huyck Farms, appeared on Good Morning America at the end of Sept. He reported that his annual gourd crop was less than 50% of its normal amount.
“I ended up having 10 inches of rain in August here. I think last year, the year before that, we had 1 inch of rain in August. So it’s quite a difference,” Huyck told ABC News. “We went out, probably a month ago, and just the blooms weren’t opening, and we couldn’t hardly find any pumpkins.”
Throughout the year, parts of Kentucky saw record rainfall and flooding. However, closer to Lexington, farmers reported an opposite problem to WLEX.
Like Texas, farmers are dealing with dry conditions and working to combat those for the fall harvest.
“At Bi-Water Farm and Greenhouse, Stephen Fister’s family has been growing pumpkins for around 50 years now,” WLEX said. “This year, the farm still saw a successful crop, but they had to put more resources into it to do so.”
The Fayette County farm reported they only had a third of their yield this year.
“When the season is as dry and hot as it was, it takes a lot more dollars and labor to get a pumpkin crop done,” Fister told WLEX.
Lack of supply could increase prices of local pumpkins, but with areas like Illinois and Kansas City producing like normal, customers should be able to find a pumpkin to adorn their doorstep for Halloween.