"I've been in fields from Santaquin to Tremonton, and the crop looks pretty good," said Dan Drost, professor of horticulture and the extension vegetable specialist for Utah State University. "We have plenty of fruits out there."

While the crop has had a slow start this season due to a cold spring, the late warm weather is allowing the pumpkins to ripen quickly enough for the Halloween season, he said.

At Paradise Valley Orchard in Paradise, owner Rich Wiedeman already has pulled about a hundred pumpkins from his quarter-acre field, which opened to the public earlier this month.

"Half of the patch is ripe right now, and they all will be certainly by the first of October," he said.

Phil Rowley of Rowley South Ridge Farms, just south of Santaquin, said it's a good pumpkin year for his 15 acres of fields. Families can take a hay ride to one of the patches where they can pick their own pumpkins.

"There's still some green pumpkins in the field, but they'll turn orange in the next week or two," he said. "People will be pleased and find a lot of pumpkins, and it's a great family activity to pick your own."

While most of the grocery stores are selling locally-produced pumpkins, Drost said buying direct from the farmer may yield a better price. Check county government Web sites for a list of pumpkin growers in your area.