Every autumn, pumpkins take center stage in America, adorning porches as jack-o’-lanterns, starring in pies and lattes, and fueling a seasonal economy. What began as an old Irish tale of “Jack of the Lantern” -- originally carved from turnips -- has grown into a multi-million-dollar U.S. industry. Native to North America, pumpkins are truly an all-American crop, one of the continent’s oldest cultivated plants and a symbol of fall. In 2021, Americans spent more than $10 billion on Halloween festivities, and nearly 94 million people planned to carve pumpkins, a testament to the cultural and economic weight of the -- typically -- bright orange crop.
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Daniel Munch
Daniel Munch is an associate economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Market Intel. Visit www.fb.org/market-intel for more information.
