ANOKA, Minn. — Oh, my gourd! Have you ever seen a pumpkin this big? Travis Gienger, of Anoka, has raised a pumpkin larger than any other this season.
His pumpkin, named Rudy, weighed in at 2,471 pounds Monday at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in California.
In 2023, Gienger won the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off with a 2,749-pound behemoth. The pumpkin - dubbed Michael Jordan after the basketball legend - not only won the competition but broke the world record.
On Monday, this year's behemoth pumpkins went head to head for the 2024 Championship.
Let's be clear, this is not just for bragging rights: For the winning grower, there's a prize of $9 per pound with an additional $30,000 for a world-record pumpkin.