SMASHING SUCCESS: Farmers in a stretch of Illinois where most of the nation's pumpkins are grown say their crop is likely to be one of the few successes in a year when severe drought baked most of the nation's heartland.

JACK O LANTERN LIKES: Pumpkins tend to thrive in dry, warm climates that stave off fungus, mold and other rind-rotting diseases that spread in wet conditions. They're also grown from seeds with deep roots that let them reach moisture unavailable to corn.

HALLOWEEN HOORAY: It's a sharp break from recent years, when soggy conditions have hurt the nation's pumpkin production.