TEXAS NEIGHBORS | FALL 2022 Holiday Frights Candy, costumes and corn mazes. Oh my, it could be a spooky surprise! It’s fall, and Texans are ready for holiday frights and those sweet, tasty delights. But it wouldn’t be possible without Texas agriculture. Although Halloween traditions have evolved over time, many are still similar, and agriculture has always played a role. The glow of a hand-carved jack o’ lantern lights the path to a front porch. A doorbell rings, and candy is added to the trick-or-treater’s stash. A black cat prowls the streets. Families hustle through a haunted maze. And ag-riculture is there through it all. Texas is home to the ‘Pumpkin Capital.’ Sweet treats use Texas sugar. Cotton is used in scary and cheery costumes. Floydada, a South Plains town, is known as the “Pumpkin Capital of the World.” But pumpkin patches all across the state are ready for folks to visit and pick the plump pumpkin that’s perfect for them. Halloween is all about the candy and sweet desserts. And sugar is a key ingredient. That sugar gets its start on farms like those in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where it’s grown and processed into sucrose or table sugar. Ghosts, goblins and monsters. Or cheerleaders, football players and celebrities. Cotton is used to make many of those costumes. And Texas is the top cotton-producing state in the nation. WWW.TEXASFARMBUREAU.ORG