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Illinois: King of the Pumpkin
Illinois, the nation's leader in pumpkin production, is becoming more prolific.

The number of pumpkin farms and pumpkin acres is growing. Illinois now harvests 13,679 acres of pumpkins on 502 farms. This is up from the previous count published by the USDA, in 2002, when there were 12,296 acres on 475 farms.

Jeff Squibb of the Illinois Department of Agriculture says proximity to pumpkin processors is a reason. Libby's in Morton and Seneca Foods in Princeville together produce 90 percent of the nation's pumpkin pie filling.

Pumpkins are also sold for decoration. In fact, a farmer in Keene , near Mount Vernon, produces pumpkins under contract exclusively for Wal-Mart to be sold as jack-o-lanterns.

The value of Illinois' pumpkin crop is $22 million, a far cry from the $9 billion corn crop, meaning pumpkins are a niche crop.

(Illinois Radio Network/Illinois Department of Agriculture)
10 02 09 by Newsroom
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