Perfect Fall Weather For Pumpkin Harvest

Sep 30, 2021

Manitoba's pumpkin harvest is underway.

Scott Friesen grows about 60 acres of pumpkins near Halbstadt.

"So far the weather's been cooperating very well for the harvest," he said. "It's just been excellent weather getting the pumpkins off the field. No mud to deal with, no dirty pumpkins. We cut them off the vine and then roll them into windrows and then put them in wooden crates and take them home to get washed and put into the shipping bins and we have been shipping fairly steadily since about September 10th."

Friesen noted harvest started about a week early this year.

He commented on yields so far.

"Yields are pretty good. The pumpkin profile has sized up fairly well. A little bit smaller, but overall, pretty good. The yield is as good as any year, maybe even a little bit better. Those August rains are what the pumpkins really needed."

Friesen says about 7.5 inches of rain fell in his area throughout the month of August.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

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That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.