(Graphic courtesy: Old Shoe Woman)
The record drought gripping the Southeast isn't all bad news for Georgia.
The historic dry spell has meant nearly perfect weather for growing pecans, and Georgia is on pace to be the nation's top producer this year after slipping to third in 2006, said pecan horticulturist Lenny Wells with the University of Georgia's agriculture extension. Shellers are predicting Georgia will harvest more than 125 million pounds by the end of the year, he said.
The nation's two other top producers - New Mexico and Texas - are not expected to grow nearly as much, Wells said. New Mexico's predictions are for a pecan crop of 80 million pounds, and Texas is expected to have 73 million pounds, according to Wells.
Texas was the top producer in 2006, followed by New Mexico, which meant Georgia - which is usually a top producer - dropped to third. New Mexico's harvest was worth $85 million, followed by Texas at $75 million and Georgia with $66 million.
This year Georgia had a spring freeze that destroyed a few orchards close to Augusta, but the drought - combined with irrigated orchards and some August and September rains - have been kind to the pecan crop.
The larger production year means lower prices for "desirable" - the most popular variety of pecan. A pound costs $1.47-$1.67 this year, compared to $1.93-$2.18 this time last year.
The nation produced nearly 189 million pounds of pecans in 2006 from the Pecan Belt - a 15-state growing region located in the southeastern and southwestern United States. The pecan harvest is expected to begin in late November and will last about six weeks.
In a related story, the Georgia Pecan Festival took place in Rylander Park in Americus on Saturday.
Rick Whaley, president of Citizens Bank of Americus, told the Americus Times-Recorder:
"This was a community-wide effort."Whaley said the pecan industry is important to Georgia and Sumter County, according to the report.
