Farmers expecting bumper pumpkin crop

ST. LOUIS -- While there have been no sightings of the Great Pumpkin, farmers in the St. Louis area are proud of a bumper crop of pumpkins splendid enough to keep even Linus -- disappointed every year in the pumpkin patch -- happy.

"There are going to be some good pumpkins to choose from this year," said Gene Losch of Losch Farms at Roxana, Ill.

About 80 percent of the pumpkins in the United States are sold in October.

Last year, following a wet, hot growing season in the summer, plant diseases killed 80 percent or more of the crop on farms in the St. Louis area.

"That was the worst we ever had," said Mike Roegge, a crop educator for the University of Illinois Extension Service who grows pumpkins on his farm near Quincy, Ill. "I never want to go through a year like that again."

But this summer's weather was just about perfect and farmers expect to have full pumpkin patches in time for Halloween.

"Our crop is excellent. We've got a bumper crop of all sizes," said Stella Moritz of Rombach Farms in Chesterfield. "The crop is 100 percent better than last year. We are ready for customers and we are open."

Valerie Skouby, retail manager at Prouhet Vegetable Farm in Bridgeton, said the farm has had pumpkins for sale for the last two weeks.

"We've got a beautiful crop," Skouby said. "We've got lots of pumpkins."

Despite the better crop and availability of pumpkins this year, produce vendors expect they'll sell for about the same rate, around 35 cents a pound.