By Carla Espinoza GutiérrezDespite some frightful weather, the 2025 Illinois pumpkin crop is looking anything but scary. Labor remains a persistent challenge for specialty crop growers, especially in ornamental pumpkin production, which requires more manual handling than processing crops. “Eighty-five percent of the canned pumpkin or pumpkin pie mix is going to be out of our processed pumpkin,” Scavuzzo says. “Even Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte has a very small, keyword small, amount of pumpkin puree in that.”However, ornamental pumpkins used for seasonal retail displays also make up a significant share of Illinois’ output. “We will start January off with that pumpkin production workshop, making sure that our farms are all prepared for what the next season looks like,” Scavuzzo says.