Tag Archives: Georgia pecan growers

Pecan Growers Gather in Ty Ty for Fall Field Day, Share Updates on Research and Recovery

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Ty Ty, GA |

Pecan growers from across Georgia recently gathered for their annual Fall Field Day, an event designed to foster connection, share research updates, and provide expert insights essential to the future of the state’s pecan industry.

“With the research being done here, they don’t get to see this facility but every three years,” says Mary Bruorton, Executive Director of the Georgia Pecan Growers Association. “So this is a new opportunity for new growers and existing growers to see what research has been done… what new varieties are being worked on, and different disease protection as well.”

Among the speakers was Dr. Lenny Wells, Extension Pecan Specialist with the University of Georgia, who offered a crop update and highlighted one of this year’s biggest challenges: rain.

“With pecans, most of the varieties that we grow… they’re susceptible to a disease called pecan scab,” says Wells. “The more rainfall you get, the more disease pressure there’s going to be. You have to spray more. In years like this one, it rains so often that especially growers with a large acreage, they really can’t get over their acreage before it rains again. It drives up the cost of production considerably.”

For producers already operating on thin margins, those increased costs can be significant—which is why having reliable, science-based guidance is more important than ever.

“In general, farmers tend to focus on production—on how many pounds they make of whatever crop they’re looking at,” Wells explains. “But probably a more important figure to look at is the net return. And that goes back to the cost of production. So we’re always looking for ways that we can cut costs without hurting the yield.”

Despite the rain and the lingering effects of Hurricane Helene from last fall, Wells says the crop has shown resilience. In fact, many trees damaged by the storm unexpectedly produced a crop this year.

“We’ve seen something very surprising,” says Wells. “A lot of the trees that were left actually came back with some crop this year… Normally what we see after these hurricanes is that they completely take that next year off… but this year something was different.”

While it may not be a record-setting harvest, Wells says the fact that growers have a crop at all—especially in previously storm-damaged orchards—is a positive sign moving forward.

By: John Holcomb

Pecan Growers Rebuild After Hurricane Helene as Signs of Recovery Begin to Emerge

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Keysville, GA |

Eight months after Hurricane Helene tore through southeast Georgia, pecan growers are still grappling with the storm’s devastating impact—an event now considered more destructive to the state’s pecan industry than even Hurricane Michael. Heavy rains and powerful winds flattened orchards, toppled mature trees, and left producers reeling just weeks before harvest.

“You had virtually seventy-five percent crop loss in the counties the hurricane hit,” says Andrew Sawyer, Area Pecan Agent with UGA. “But the biggest, hardest thing was the tree loss. Almost 400,000 trees were down. And then you have the future income loss. The total impact will easily surpass Hurricane Michael, and when Michael happened, we didn’t think we’d see anything worse than that.”

For growers, losing a tree means far more than losing a single harvest. It means starting over—and waiting more than a decade to regain profitability.

“It’s one thing to lose the crop and say, ‘Well, we’ll try again next year,’” Sawyer explains. “But when you lose the tree, you lose the crop with it—and future production. Pecan trees take seven to eight years before they begin producing again. But to make your money back, due to planting costs, it’s really more like fifteen years.”

Months later, cleanup efforts continue across the region. While some growers are making progress, others—particularly those in the hardest hit zones—are still in the early stages.

“For some, it’s been very slow,” says Sawyer. “There are still trees on the ground that haven’t even been cleaned up. But in places where the tree loss was maybe thirty to forty percent, they’ve at least been able to clear out the debris, and the remaining trees have a shot at producing this year. Replanting, for most, will begin next year.”

Amid all the challenges, there’s a glimmer of hope. Sawyer says that in some areas, even those hit hardest by the storm, surviving trees are showing signs of resilience—and production.

“Generally, after a big storm like that, you don’t expect a crop. So this has been a surprise,” he says. “Across East and Southeast Georgia, there’s actually a very decent crop on the remaining trees. Some of it is even in the hardest hit areas. In other regions it’s more spotty, but across several varieties I’ve looked at, there’s reason to be optimistic. And that wasn’t expected.”

By: John Holcomb