It's the great pumpkin harvest!

Sep 23, 2022

A Southern Manitoba pumpkin farmer says he's seeing average to above average yields this year.

Scott Friesen, who operates Snowland Vegetable Farms near Halbstadt, commented on the timing of this year's harvest.

"They're about 10 days to two weeks later than I would have liked to have started, just due to the wet spring. Our planting delay was also about two weeks. The wholesalers were looking to buy much earlier but we were just unable to deliver product. It just wasn't quite ready yet."

Friesen grows 95 acres of pumpkins and says he's harvested about 10 per cent so far.

"It's looking to be pretty good. The pumpkins have sized up fairly well to almost a little bit too big as some of the pumpkins, the seed that I buy is supposed to be for a specific size, but with the moisture they've gotten a little bit larger than I would have liked to have seen them."

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.