Farmer: Heavy rain damaging pumpkin crop
By Trevor Sochocki, James Paxson
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MT. PLEASANT, Michigan (WNEM) — A bleak outlook for a fall favorite this year as the weather is affecting the pumpkin harvest.
Pumpkins are very popular in the fall, but the glorious gourds are going through a rough patch.
William Miller is the owner of Papas Pumpkin Patch in Mt. Pleasant.
“We’ve been getting serious rains every couple days this fall since October started, some of them two three inches. I heard another town got five inches. And it’s tough to pick pumpkins in the water,” Miller said. “We grow a lot more than we have to for reasons like this. In the past we’ve had acres left over when we’ve had real good growing years. This year we’re gonna pick probably every pumpkin by the end of the year.”
Miller used to not grow as much, but a bad harvest a couple years ago sent him around the Midwest buying pumpkins from others. Growing more has come in handy with all the product he’s leaving in the field.
Including the crop damage from deer and other wildlife, the rain just piles on.
“It doesn’t help. But every year there’s something. There’s something. They don’t do thousands of dollars of damage; they do tens of thousands of dollars of damage. Fortunately, this community really supports us they come out and buy a lot of other stuff,” Miller said.
While most of their pumpkins may still be as great as the one Charlie Brown knows, they are relying more on the ever-popular cider donuts and hayrides for profit.
“Usually, we do a lot more with the pumpkins in the field. This year we’ve done a lot more on the inside of the building. That tends to be where the general public is flowing, towards inside stuff,” Miller said.
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