From year to year, the amount of pumpkin acres that U.S. farmers harvest changes up to 25 percent in top States, but averages since 2012 have been fairly stable to slightly declining.
In 2017, farmers in the top 16 pumpkin-producing States harvested 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins, implying about 2 billion pounds harvested altogether in the United States. Production decreased 7 percent from 2016 but remained far above that of 2015 when late rains severely damaged the pumpkin crop.
Initial reports for 2018 pumpkin production indicate healthy crops in Illinois and California. However, some reports from Michigan indicate a challenging year for pumpkins due to early drought, recent downpours, and disease. In some areas of North Carolina with excessive rain during the summer, the pumpkin crop was reduced somewhat due to disease, but Hurricane Florence missed the top producing county, Chowan.
