2009 PRESS RELEASES

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February 18, 2009
COMING SOON TO A PORCH NEAR YOU: KNUCKLE HEAD, GARGOYLE AND THEIR FRIENDS LUNCH LADY AND MAGIC WAND
Contact: Elaine Lidholm, 804.786.7686

Thanks to the Virginia Pumpkin Growers Association, next fall Knuckle Head, Gargoyle, Lunch Lady and Magic Wand may be sitting on your front porch.  These were some of the pumpkin varieties the growers evaluated at the annual meeting in January at the Carroll County Governmental Complex in Hillsville.  While Virginia's 2009 pumpkin season is still months away, the growers are already hard at work, and research and development of different varieties is an important part of the job.

Kevin Semones, Director of the Virginia Pumpkin Growers Association, says that in Southwest Virginia alone, within a 50-mile radius of Hillsville there are 3,000 acres of pumpkins with a value of about $12 million.  According to Todd Haymore, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, pumpkins are an important component of Virginia’s agricultural economy.  “Pumpkins are one of the many sectors that help to make Virginia agriculture the Commonwealth's number one industry.  While we do have some large farms that sell to the wholesale market, many of our pumpkin farms are small or are part of a larger farm.  When people come onto a farm to buy pumpkins, they tend to buy other things as well, like lunch and tickets for pony rides or haunted houses, so pumpkins are a good source of revenue when summer crops are gone and the Christmas tree season hasn’t begun.”

Haymore notes that many people admit it might be more convenient to purchase a couple of pumpkins at the grocery store but feel that their day at the pumpkin farm gives them great value in terms of memories, time in the fresh air and sunshine and quality time spent together.  “That’s certainly the case for my family,” he said.  “My three daughters love just running up and down the rows of pumpkins, and they hit me up for everything from pony rides to chicken feed for the birds in the petting farm.”  There is one even more significant value, according to Haymore.  “When people buy their pumpkins on the farm, they’re supporting their local farm economy and keeping those dollars in the community.  They’re also contributing to the health of Virginia’s agriculture industry, the largest in the state.”

This enhanced experience may explain why pumpkins sold well in 2008 despite tough economic times.  Semones says that acreage has increased in recent years, and that demand was good and prices held up in 2008.  “Our main focus in 2009 will be the research and development of different pumpkin varieties, production methods and maintenance programs,” he said.  “This research hopefully will increase the yield per acre and give the growers a much larger variety of pumpkins to offer for sale.”  He noted that specialty pumpkins are very popular right now and that consumers are demanding different colors – green, blue, white, multi-colored as well as the traditional orange.  They also want warty pumpkins and gourds, not just the smooth face of a carving pumpkin.  And judging by the names of new pumpkin varieties, consumers also want a good laugh when they see their pumpkins sitting on the porch.