CLARENCE, NY — The festival at the Great Pumpkin Farm began on Saturday, but it couldn't be possible without the help of local farms.
“We do grow some of our own pumpkins, but our festival grew so much we couldn’t keep up with it,” said Benjamin Schultz, co-owner of the Great Pumpkin Farm.
Schultz says that with the help of farms, the festival is able to provide tens of thousands of pumpkins, and keep them replenished throughout the month long sale.
“A lot of the growers around this area have it down to a science, with their irrigation systems and the right fertilization, and as you can see, the harvest is plentiful,” said Schultz.
One of them is the Harris Farm nearly half an hour away from Clarence in Gasport and luckily, the harvest this year is bountiful as compared to last year, where the 25 acres of fall vegetables were ruined by rain.
“The pumpkins did not hold up well, and we only harvested half of our planted acres,” said Nate Harris who works the family farm and market with his wife.
According to the USDA, New York State in 2020, farms harvested 5,600 acres of pumpkins, which accounted for 8 percent of the United States total harvests.
The fall festivals and even local stores that host the pumpkins of western new yorks farms are a vital piece of the agriculture puzzle.
“We couldn’t move retail. The great pumpkin farm, Niagara Produce, are great customers of course, because without them, we would have to reduce how much we farm,” said Harris.
Harris Farms ships 500- 800 lbs. per storage bin with sometimes 16 - 60 bins per truckload, which is anywhere from 8,000 to 48,000 lbs. of pumpkins being shipped to local stores and pumpkin stands.
The Great Pumpkin Farm is hosting its Fall Festivaleveryday from 10 am until 7 pm.
