Flooding impacts crop for local pumpkin festival
Several Hartsburg residents evacuated their homes in June during major flooding. Water poured over the levees in the area, flooded farmers’ fields, and crept towards people’s homes.
Jo Hackman was one of those residents. After three months, she recently moved back into her home in Hartsburg, where she can tend to the pumpkins she grows. Hackman Farms is one of two family owned farms in the area that grow pumpkins for the annual Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival.
Hackman has been growing them since the festival started in 1991.
She said she had concerns during the flooding about the festival.
“We were concerned that we weren’t going to be able to get any pumpkins in this year,” she said.
Hackman said they planted their pumpkins around a month later than they usually do, but that they have planted late before and been able to grow enough.
Hackman recently inspected the 12 acres of pumpkins behind her house. She said she usually plants around 25 acres of pumpkins.
“We had to wait until the water went down before we could even consider putting pumpkins in,” she said.
She said despite her crop being almost half its normal size, she does not think it will have any major financial impact on the festival. The biggest difference, she said, is that there will most likely be fewer very large pumpkins weighing around 100 pounds.
“The seed is so expensive for the big ones. So you can get a lot more for your money for the little ones,” she said.
She said people are typically very understanding that what is at the festival is what they were able to grow.
“That’s the life of farming in Hartsburg,” she said.
She explained how she felt once she realized she would be able to plant at least a small crop.
“I was very relieved. No matter what the crop is at least we got the seed in,” she said.
Hackman said she will have a better idea how many pumpkins she will have soon, but if they have to they will bring in pumpkins from other local farmers for the festival on Oct. 12 and 13.
