As Halloween approaches, many of us may be thinking about trekking to the farm to pick some Jersey Fresh pumpkins. New Jersey agritourism is going strong again this fall.
"Some guys got wiped out because there was too much rain. And there are other farmers that their fields are just fine," state Agriculture Secretary Doug Fisher said.
"It is not the best year that they have had because of the rain in terms of the yield and how much they can pull out of a field. But there are plenty of pumpkins around. Some farmers, there is a little smaller in size. But then there is others, that they have grown to the sizes that we all expect to make our Jack-o-Lanterns and have it for the front steps."
Fisher says some pumpkin growers struggled with what's called "fruit set"— getting the pumpkins to start growing.
Agritourism has evolved into a key component of New Jersey's farm economy.
"So much to enjoy. It really is a great time of the year to visit your neighborhood farm, or even travel a little bit further," Fisher said.