Despite a scare in mid-August, the 2017 pumpkin crop is looking good. Not the jack-a-lantern type, although those did well, too. But, the kind used for pumpkin pie filling.
Farmers in Illinois raise the overwhelming majority of pumpkins used to make the pies served at Thanksgiving. Something like 90 percent of the pumpkin pie filling comes from fields in an area mostly around Peoria. These are canning pumpkins says University of Illinois Extension’s Mohammad Babadoost.
Babadoost has been tasked with a lot of the research that goes into making sure the crop stays healthy all season long. He’s a plant pathologist for University of Illinois Extension and says although there was a time in mid-August that made things look a little iffy, getting that news out to farmers about what to do and a good end of the season put the fall classic back on track.
And that means there will be plenty of pumpkin pie filling for the holiday season all around the nation courtesy of Illinois farmers.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.