In addition to the encouraging crop figures for Indiana corn and soybeans recently reported, what are some other raw local resources that your company can pay attention to? Depending on your market, your company might be interested in a certain seasonal crop that seems to find itself in everything this time of year: the pumpkin.

It may seem trifling, but consider the high demand for this popular gourd this time of year between September and December and you may see some useful potential applications for the inventory management system that you choose.

While Purdue University seems to have officially designated this only an "average" season of production for Hoosier pumpkins, given the somewhat harsh alternating conditions that the crop saw, it does show some sign of resilience for this fruit.

A release from that institution quoted scientist Dan Egel on the specific environmental changes that affected the harvest.

"The first half of the summer was good for providing moisture for the pumpkins, and most pumpkins are not irrigated," he said, adding that "in the second half of the season, some of the pumpkins on well-drained land lost yield because of the dry weather," which proved good in some cases for reducing the chance of disease.

Many a food companies or other producers might want to consider what environmental changes they need to be ready for and how an unexpected surge of weather would hurt or help them. To avoid any nasty surprises, your business can utilize inventory management software and retain a tight grip on the items vital to your business.