The summer and autumn of 2022 most of the area of the United States had experienced some drought and now we are witnessing the effects with certain fall harvests.
Since the absence of rain, there has been a pumpkin harvest deficit in some locations. Due to a scarcity of pumpkins, several businesses have had to get their supplies from other places.
Following a difficult harvest, families will have to celebrate Halloween with smaller pumpkins than normal this year. Buyers will have fewer options because this summer’s drought reduced crop numbers from about 15 million to as low as 10 million as stated in KVUE ABC.
All who enjoy carving jack-o’-lanterns will be surprised to find that the traditional pumpkin is close to 30% smaller compared to past harvests. Pumpkins are sown in mid-May and require a lot of water to produce a good crop in time for the October celebrations and heat and dry air are not ideal for pumpkin development.
The latter has surprised Yu Shigeyama, a SUNY Oswego student from Japan majoring in communication. Shigeyama explains that in Japan they are living in a similar situation where hot temperatures made the fruits sweeter than usual. In addition, she said she was not expecting that warm temperatures would have come as well in the U.S., specifically in the New York state.
“My mom said that Japan was so hot this summer that most of the fruits became sweeter than usual,” Shigeyama said. “I do not know much about pumpkins, but I guess this temperature variation in the U.S. will have a huge impact on the size and flavor of traditional pumpkins.”
Farms such as Western Belle Farm were obliged to purchase their pumpkins from a third party in order to have their first-ever Fall festival.
Texas Farm Bureau spokesperson Gary Joiner explained to KVUE ABC that they are talking with other area farmers and are still working on a plan to provide farmers with what they need, while inflation exacerbates the problem. According to Joiner, almost all farmers who harvest other crops such as cotton and oats have been affected by the drought.
Joiner explains that right now, everything is expensive, inflation is hitting agriculture like it is hitting everyone at the grocery store. Joiner keeps saying that the cost of those goods is more so some of that planning is still very much being sharpened with a pencil to try to find a way to continue to make agriculture profitable even when those higher costs are in front of them.
Image via Abigail Connolly
