CENTRE COUNTY, Pa (WJAC) — Across the state, farmers say it’s been a good year for the pumpkin crop, and that’s good news in a number of ways.
It’s that time of year as two of the top topics for conversation in Pennsylvania are politics and pumpkins.
In recent years, it seems that sometime between the Fourth of July and Labor Day, the annual transformation to everything pumpkin begins.
“Oh yeah, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin rolls, everything pumpkin,”
At the Harner Farm near State College, it’s one of the many farms where the spring fruit cop was practically wiped out, but the pumpkin production has been the opposite.
“There has been plenty of rain; it’s been a nice summer, no major storms, anything like that. Out of the last ten years, this is probably one of the best years we’ve had.”
According to Penn State’s Ag extension, Pennsylvania is among the top pumpkin growing states in the nation,
In fact, researchers say there are pumpkin farms in all but one of the state’s 67 counties.
And the pumpkins in Pennsylvania also play a role in another top industry — tourism marketing, or what they term Ag tourism.
“We try to make a show of it; driving by you want the first impression to be, ‘oh wow, look at that place, that looks neat.’ Hopefully get some drive by traffic as well.”
As the state’s top farmer recommends, whether its pumpkins or other goods, stop by your local farmers markets.
“Every dollar spent on local farms helps sustain a local business, that is invested here and across Pennsylvania for generations. That’s important for Pennsylvania agriculture.”