Alexandra Ross March 13, 2023
Illinois continues to be the state with the highest production of pumpkins.
It has been many years since any other squash-growing state has beaten Illinois in squash production.
Raghela Scavuzzo, executive director of Illinois Specialty Growers, said Illinois produced 651.9 million pounds of squash in 2021, 39% of all squash produced in the US
“Illinois has been #1 in pumpkin production for many, many years and we’re very proud of that,” Scavuzzo told The Center Square.
Decades of experience and dedicated research keep Illinois at the forefront, she said. In 2021, Illinois harvested many more pumpkins than its closest competitor Indiana. Indiana is the second largest pumpkin producing state at 181 million pounds. California, Texas, and Michigan round out the top five pumpkin-growing states.
“The Illinois soil is just perfect for squash production. We grow beautiful pumpkins year after year,” she said.
Nearly 18,000 acres of pumpkins were planted in Illinois last year. Compare that to candy corn, which accounted for 6,500 acres. 97 percent of the pumpkins went to processors.
In the 1920s, Illinois established its squash processing industry. Nestle Libby has a massive pumpkin processing facility in Morton, the city that bills itself as the Pumpkin Capital of the World.
Seneca Foods has a large pumpkin processing facility in Princeville.
The top 10 squash-producing counties in Illinois are Tazewell, Kankakee, Mason, Logan, Will, Marshall, Kane, Pike, Carroll, and Woodford.
Most people don’t realize that pumpkins are a fruit and not a vegetable. Humans have been growing and eating pumpkins for 10,000 years. In colonial times, settlers cut off the tops of the gourds.
Then they filled them with milk and honey and spices and roasted them in the ashes of the fire. This is believed to be the origin of pumpkin pie.
A niche business in Illinois grows giant pumpkins. Seeds for the mammoth £1,000+ prize winners start at $35 and sell for up to $1,000. Last year, Henry Bartimus von Dewitt picked up a 1,673-pound pumpkin to win the prize at the Heap Giant Pumpkin weigh-in in Minooka.
