An Abbotsford farm that has lost half of its pumpkin crop is offering the damaged gourds to animal farmers and sanctuaries.
In a social media post on Saturday (Oct. 2), Maan Farms operations manager Amir Maan said the pumpkins had been placed in the public pumpkin patch.
They were sitting on top of dirt, but they rotted due to some recent sunny days and high temperatures interspersed with heavy rain, he said.
The farm, located at McKenzie and Vye roads, has since sorted the good pumpkins from the rotted ones, leaving only about half the crop.
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“But that’s just Mother Nature – that’s what happens in farming. Sometimes you end up losing a large percentage of your crop for unforeseen circumstances,” he said.
Maan said the usable pumpkins are now sitting on top of corn to create a barrier from the wet ground, and they have contacted other farms to refill the patch with healthy pumpkins.
The farm is now offering the rotted pumpkins free of charge to animal farmers or sanctuaries. They must be picked up on Wednesday (Oct. 6) between 9 to 11 a.m.
“I am hoping this might be an awesome way to use the pumpkins which we aren’t able to sell … If they go as feed for animals, then at least that’s something positive out of a rotten situation,” Maan wrote on Instagram.
The pumpkin patch is part of Maan Farms’ annual Fall Festival, which runs until Oct. 31.
