Minnesota Farmer Grows Record-Breaking 2,471-Pound Pumpkin, Wins World Championship

Minnesota Farmer Grows Record-Breaking 2,471-Pound Pumpkin, Wins World Championship
Image By: CBS News

On Monday, a Minnesota horticulture instructor maintained his title as the winner of a yearly pumpkin-weighing competition in Northern California, where his enormous gourds had taken first place for four consecutive years.

In Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, won the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off by defeating his nearest rival by 6 pounds.

The world record he achieved last year with a pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds was not met by his winning gourd, which weighed 2,471 pounds.

As he has done in the past, Gienger, 44, said he concentrated on having healthy soil and plants that were nourished properly, but that his pumpkin’s growth was probably hampered by a cold fall with record-breaking rain.

“We had really, really tough weather and somehow, some way, I kept on working,” Gienger stated. “I had to work for this one, and we got it done at the end, but it wasn’t by much.”

Read Also: Stabbing at Southern California Middle School Leaves Parents Frustrated Over Ongoing Campus Violence

Gienger spent thirty-five hours driving to California with his family, carrying his enormous gourd.

He stated that a group of skilled carvers will perform a 3D carving on the enormous pumpkin during a Halloween event in Southern California.

The Sources:

profile
With more than two years of expertise in news and analysis, Eileen Stewart is a seasoned reporter. Eileen is a respected voice in this field, well-known for her sharp reporting and insightful analysis. Her writing covers a wide range of subjects, from politics to culture and more.