Halloween fun on Farms.com

Oct 01, 2021

The Halloween Countdown Calendar is back for the month of October

By Farms.com

Many visual cues signal the fall season.

Leaves are changing colors, combines are rolling, and soon enough, Halloween decorations will go up and trick or treaters will be knocking on doors.

To help celebrate the Halloween season, the team at Farms.com has created a Halloween Countdown Calendar.

Each day throughout the month of October, Farms.com visitors can click on the current date to watch fun family videos including elaborate pumpkin carvings and DIY ideas for Halloween décor.

Families can also click on past dates to re-watch videos or catch up on ones they may have missed.

“We are so appreciative of the farmers and agribusiness owners who choose Farms.com as a source of industry news,” said Farms.com President and CEO Graham Dyer. “The Halloween Countdown Calendar is a small way for us to say thank you for your support. Our team has compiled a great collection of videos for our farm families to enjoy together.”

The video for Oct. 1 visits Villafane Studios in Carefree, Ariz.

Its owner, Ray Villafane, is an artist and world-renowned pumpkin carver known for his 3-D carvings.

He currently holds the Guinness world record for the largest pumpkin sculpture.

In 2011, he carved a zombie apocalypse from two giant pumpkins weighing 1,818 lbs. (824kg) and 1,693 lbs. (767 kg) respectively.

The video for Oct. 2 focuses on a main Halloween staple – the pumpkin, and how it grows,

The video for Oct. 3 is about how to make a singing pumpkins display, and the video for Oct. 4 teaches you how to make a Halloween scarecrow out of a pumpkin.

Video: How women saved agricultural economics and other ideas for why diversity matters | Jill J. McCluskey

Dr. Jill J. McCluskey, Regents Professor at Washington State University and Director of the School of Economic Science

Dr. McCluskey documents that women entered agricultural economics in significant numbers starting in the 1980s, and their ranks have increased over time. She argues that women have increased the relevance in the field of agricultural economics through their diverse interests, perspectives, and experiences. In their research, women have expanded the field's treatment of non-traditional topics such as food safety and nutrition and environmental and natural resource economics. In this sense, women saved the Agricultural Economics profession from a future as a specialty narrowly focused on agricultural production and markets. McCluskey will go on to discuss some of her own story and how it has shaped some of her thinking and research. She will present her research on dual-career couples in academia, promotional achievement of women in both Economics and Agricultural Economics, and work-life support programs.

The Daryl F. Kraft Lecture is arranged by the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, with the support of the Solomon Sinclair Farm Management Institute, and in cooperation with the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.