Pumpkin farmer says consumers should be aware of smaller, more expensive pumpkins this year

INDIANAPOLIS — Fall is here and as many people are rushing out to get the best pumpkins in town, one expert says buyers may be in for a bit of a surprise this year.

Drought conditions delayed many pumpkin farms from harvesting on time this season.

Stephen Meyers is an assistant professor at Purdue University and also a pumpkin farmer. He says limited rain and constant scorching hot days helped some crops but hurt others.

"What we're seeing here, and what other farmers who experience that same sort of weather in June are probably seeing is a little bit of a delay in their pumpkin harvests,” Meyers said. “We probably would have wanted to harvest more pumpkins a week ago or so for some of the early birds. But we're still going to get a good yield. If you go out in the patch there, it seems like there's less pumpkins than there maybe should be, or than we had two years ago, when we had a really great growing season. It's kind of hard to say, but there are still pumpkins to be had.”

On top of short supply, consumers should also expect higher prices due to inflation when they go to buy their pumpkins this year.