2,147-pound pumpkin breaks state record at Alaska State Fair

Aug. 30 (UPI) -- An Alaska man broke his own state record by bringing a pumpkin to the Alaska State Fair that weighed in at 2,147 pounds.

Dale Marshall, who previously set the state record with a 2,051-pound pumpkin at the 2019 Alaska State Fair, broke his own record this year with a massive gourd he dubbed "Cookie Monster."

Marshall said he used an Atlantic Giant seed from another giant pumpkin grower when he planted what would become Cookie Monster on June 4.

"The guy I got the seed from is gonna be happy," Marshall told the Anchorage Daily News.

Marshall said he believes his pumpkin would have grown even larger if there had been more sunny weather over the summer.

"If it got a little more daylight, it could have been bigger," he said.

Marshall's pumpkin earned the state record, but it fell short of the 2,702-pound Guinness World Record, which was set last year by Italian farmer Stefano Cutrupi.