There is a new state record in South Dakota that will definitely put people in the Halloween spirit! This latest record can probably display quite a few jack-o-lantern faces and provide enough pumpkin to bake a couple of hundred pumpkin pies!

The biggest pumpkin in the state of South Dakota was just recorded in Canton at the Riverview Christmas Tree Farm during the farm’s annual Pumpkin Festival.  The popular Sioux Empire festival hosted the Great South Dakota Weigh-Off to find the biggest pumpkin. According to the Riverview Christmas Tree Farm website, this competition is part of the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC). This organization is dedicated to supporting the hobby of growing the largest pumpkins in the world. The GPC's "standards and regulations ensure quality of fruit, fairness of competition, recognition of achievement, fellowship and education for all participating growers and weigh-off sites."

Christine Manika (TSM)
Christine Manika (TSM)
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There were a tremendous amount of South Dakota pumpkins competing in the Great South Dakota Weigh-Off at the Riverview Christmas Tree Farm. A pumpkin from Watertown took home top honors weighing in at a whopping 1,823 pounds! 1,823 pounds is now officially the new record in the state. The previous South Dakota record was held by Kevin Marsh's pumpkin grown in 2010 and weighing a healthy 1,674 pounds.

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Greg Kurkowski from Watertown is the man behind the pumpkin champion. In fact, I had the pleasure of meeting Greg during the weigh-off to hear exactly how he did it! Greg told me it just depends on the seed since you never know what it can do! You track the progress of the pumpkin, control the growth, as well as the fact that genetics are paramount.

This is not Greg's first rodeo.  He has been growing giants pumpkins since 1996 and has grown them every year since! There's even a cute little spot on this particular pumpkin that's perfect for kids to sit on for a picture.

Christine Manika (TSM)
Christine Manika (TSM)
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What a pumpkin! It was so cool to witness this historic moment for the state.

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