Manitoba pumpkin grower smashes his own provincial record with a 1,725 lbs. pumpkin
Posted October 6, 2026 10:43 am.
Cornie Banman’s 1,725-pound pumpkin took top prize at the Roland Pumpkin Fair, breaking a Manitoba record he had already held for seven years.
“This is a very pretty pumpkin, yep,” said Banman.
“I started in 2014-15 as my brother always did it and he always got first place. And he says, ‘Why don’t you grow too?’ So I did. The first year I had no luck and after that I got better and better and then it didn’t take long, then I beat him.”
His brother held the record before him, and the two still go back and forth comparing what’s growing in their gardens. Getting one this big takes the right seed, good soil and plenty of attention.
“You move sticks beside the pumpkin, an inch away from the pumpkin each side. Next morning you come there and they’re both on. So that tells you they grew about the 40, 50 pounds,” said Banman.
However, even Banman didn’t realize just how much this one had grown.
“I didn’t except it to be this big as according to the measurement it should be 1,400 pounds,” he explained.
The record-breaker is now on display at Fruit and Moore in Winkler, where Banman’s wife Helen manages the store and says it has quickly grown into a local attraction.
“A lot of people take photos, family photos I’ve seen them take, which is awesome. Put the little kids on there,” she explained.
Helen says watching the pumpkins grow has become a family tradition, and even after breaking his own record, she doesn’t expect Banman to stop anytime soon.
“This year he just said he hoped to beat his record, but then he says then he’ll be done. They go, ‘Oh no, you won’t be because he’ll do it again.’”
