Halloween Parties Can Go All Night Thanks in Part to Modern Agriculture

Oct 27, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC – As partygoers prepare to bob for apples, carve pumpkins, bake tasty treats and set out the candy bowl, CropLife America (CLA) reminds consumers of the important role that modern agriculture plays in providing the supplies for every great Halloween party. CLA’s member companies manufacture and sell the pest control products that growers rely on to safeguard their fields from insects and diseases, including Halloween staples. These modern agriculture products and techniques help to keep yields high and costs low so that children and adults alike can enjoy holiday games and activities each year.

While apples and pumpkins are essential to any party, trick-or-treating remains the quintessential Halloween game, and U.S. consumers expect high production levels of candies and sweets for distribution on Halloween night. A 2011 National Retail Federation survey revealed that 73.5 percent of Americans polled plan on handing candy out this year. As such, manufacturers must depend upon U.S. farmers for a constant and reliable supply of sugar, a necessary component for large-scale candy production.

Farmers must constantly address new pests and diseases that threaten yields, and simultaneously create a sustainable and affordable food supply. Crop protection products are an important tool for farmers and a part of food production, even for the harvests essential to Halloween:
 

• Crop protection products have been used on apples since the 1890s, and have allowed Americans to have disease- and insect-free apples for the past 100 years. Growers have also dramatically increased crop yields, with a reported 9.9 million pounds of apples produced in 2009 in the U.S.

• This year’s pumpkin harvests are valued at $116.5 million, and crop protection products help farmers meet the growing demand for these holiday decorations. Fungicides help to guard pumpkins against a wide range of fungal diseases such as powdery mildew, downy mildew, gummy stem blight, and Phythophthora fruit and crown rot.

• Sugar beets currently comprise more than half of the sugar produced nationally, providing 30 percent higher crop yields compared to other varieties, but they are also more susceptible to disease. Without crop protection products such as fungicides, the country’s sugar beet production would decrease dramatically, with yield losses of 23 - 50 percent.

CLA recognizes and thanks American farmers for their hard work as we celebrate Halloween this October, and enjoy a safe and fun holiday.