It’s National Pumpkin Day, Illinois top producer in US

Posted on October 26, 2020
Illinois harvested nearly twice as many pumpkin acres as any of the other top pumpkin-producing states, according to the USDA. (WJBC file photo)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – You’ll see plenty of pumpkins around with Halloween this weekend and Illinois has maintained its pumpkin power as the highest producing state in the U.S.

In 2019, Illinois harvested 10,900 acres of pumpkins, according to the USDA.

The Illinois Farm Bureau says that resulted in a production value of $17 million.

According to the USDA, Virginia harvested over 5,000 acres of pumpkins in 2019, followed by Michigan and Indiana.

In Tazewell County, Morton is known as the “Pumpkin Capital of the World.”

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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