Texas pumpkin growers are finishing an early harvest after extreme drought cut yields in the state’s primary production area by an estimated 30-40%, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent.
“We were in an extreme drought throughout the summer,” said Mark Carroll, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Floyd County. “No rainfall for the pumpkin crop, and it greatly affected our yields. We’re down anywhere from 30-40% across acres dedicated to pumpkins.”
Carroll, who has been an AgriLife Extension agent for 20 years, said 2026 is the driest year he has seen in Floyd County, the designated Pumpkin Capital of Texas.
Floyd County, east of Lubbock on the Texas High Plains, has been the state’s most significant pumpkin-producing area for the past several years, Carroll said. Growers planted 1,200 acres of pumpkins in Texas this year, he said.
Acreage changes from year to year, he said, ranging from 700 to 1,600 acres per year.
All pumpkin acres are irrigated, mostly with drip systems, and they are typically planted where water supplies are adequate, Carroll said. But irrigation could not make up for the lack of rainfall because growers started the season with little to no subsoil moisture.
“Normally, you go into a growing season, you’ve got some subsoil moisture, and then you irrigate, and you can have a decent crop,” he said. “But we went into the growing season with no subsoil moisture.”
The dry weather did offer one benefit. Pumpkins are highly susceptible to fungal disease, and growers typically spray several times each season. Dry conditions mean fewer applications, which is one reason the crop does well in Floyd County’s arid climate, Carroll said.
Harvest typically begins around Sept. 1 and was expected to wrap up this week, one to two weeks earlier than normal because there are fewer pumpkins to pick, Carroll said.
Seasonal demand is driven by Halloween and Thanksgiving when consumers buy pumpkins for decorating and baking. Other states, including Illinois, grow more pumpkins by volume, but much of that crop goes to processing, such as canned pumpkin. Texas, by contrast, produces decorative and culinary varieties, he said.
Texas growers produce more than 200 varieties, including jack-o’-lantern, pie and Cinderella types.
Carroll said pumpkin prices have been steady for the past three years, with no major increase or drop. Pumpkins are priced by the ton, and prices vary by variety.
Despite steady prices and demand, Carroll said high input costs continue to pinch producers.
“Anytime inputs stay high, it compresses our farmers and makes profitability difficult,” he said. — Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
