Illinois Again Tops The Charts As America's Pumpkin Capital

ILLINOIS — Illinois is known for a lot of things, but perhaps, the Land of Lincoln isn’t typically thought of as a top pumpkin producer at a time of year when the orange autumnal gourds take center stage on front porches and fall décor displays.

The state and the greater Chicago area have plenty of pumpkin patches for local residents to enjoy and support. But according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Illinois ranks No. 1 among the states that produce the largest number of pumpkins each year.

Data shows that in 2020, Illinois more than doubled — and in some cases tripled or quadrupled — other states’ pumpkin production. The Department of Agriculture reported that Illinois, which was already the nation’s leader in the category, increased its acreage and lead over competing states.

The agency said that Illinois reported 15,900 acres of pumpkins, more than other top states such as California, Indiana, Michigan, Texas and Virginia. Those states averaged anywhere from 3,700 to 6,000 acres of pumpkins. In 2017, data shows that those six states represented about 40 percent of the nation’s pumpkin production.

The agency reported that in Illinois, 80 percent of pumpkin harvest is devoted to pumpkin pie filling or other processed use of the product. That compares to only 3 percent of the pumpkin crop in Michigan and Virginia being used for such products, which, the agency said, explains the difference in pumpkin yield and price in Illinois.

The Department of Agriculture reports that Illinois grows about 40,000 pounds per acre California and Texas each grow about 30,000 pounds per acre — and Indiana, Michigan, and Virginia each grow about 20,000 pounds per acre. In 2020, farmers in the top six pumpkin-producing states harvested more than 1 billion pounds of pumpkins combined.

Leading in acreage and yield, Illinois produced 564 million pounds in 2020, as much as the other top 5 most productive states combined.

A Wheaton pumpkin farmer recently was found to have grown a 1,760-pound pumpkin, which is believed to be the biggest grown in Illinois. Joe Adkins has reported the biggest pumpkin multiple times and says that three of his home-grown gourds have tipped the scales at a combined 4,528 pounds.

“I have pumpkin juice running through my veins,” Adkins told the Daily Herald.

Apparently, in the nation’s pumpkin capital, he’s not alone.