In 2010, we substantially increased the pumpkin acreage.  In the spring, we purchased a  12 row, 30 inch, John Deere 7200 vacuum planter and converted it into a 6 row, 60 inch pumpkin planter.  The new planter not only doubled the speed at which we can plant pumpkins but also added the capability for us to apply starter fertilizer at planting.  All of our fields, for all crops, are soil sampled using GPS every 3 to 4 years.  The analysis samples are taken every 2.5 acres which enables us to more precisely place our fertilizers and lime.  We believe this system allows for the best agronomic, economic and environmentally sound form of application.  In the fall of 2010, a new fertilizer spreader with variable rate technology was purchased, which allows us to apply both lime and dry fertilizer.  It has the capability to spread 90 acres per hour in some instances for dry fertilizer.  As a policy, we do not apply just enough nutrients to replace the ones that the previous crop removed.  We diligently work to build up the fertility levels on all of our farms, both owned and rented.

    Pumpkin harvest is perhaps the most unique facet of pumpkin production.  The pumpkins are cut from the vine using pruners in the field.  They are then wind-rowed along the spray lanes that we used all year for driving the sprayer.  Once they are wind-rowed, workers clean the dirt off and then place a sticker on them according to size.  The loading crews then drive down the middle of the windrows and load the pumpkins that are stickered.  The loading crews only pick up the pumpkins that are stickered, leaving the decision of sizing to the crew that is stickering.  This speeds up the loading process.  The pumpkins are loaded into cardboard bins on pallets that are sitting on the converted school buses or semi-trailers.  Once they arrive to the farm headquarters, they are unloaded and grouped into areas of the warehouse according to pumpkin size,which is measured by the number of pumpkins in a bin.  The sizes range from 25 count up to 60 count for Jack-o-Lanterns and are a much higher count for pie pumpkins.  The pumpkins are then shipped by the semi load, 48 to 60 bin a trailer, all across the country.  In 2010, we shipped over 350 semi loads of pumpkins to 13 different states.

    If you are interested in acquiring more information about our pumpkin production or wish to inquire about pumpkin sales, please contact Doug Biehl.