Fay's toll on pecans, turtles

Tropical Storm Fay has hit Georgia’s pecan crop. While no numbers are yet reported, the storm's high wind and torrential rain seemed to take the heaviest toll on Georgia's $128 million pecan crop. Hardest-hit counties are in the south along the Florida line. Pecan trees are vulnerable because they're loaded with immature nuts and foliage.

Meanwhile there may be good news for turtles hit by Tropical Storm Fay - -the storm destroyed fewer loggerhead sea turtle nests than experts feared. Biologists and volunteers scoured Georgia’s 100-miles shoreline of the weekend. They say 8% of the threatened species’ nests were lost from the storm’s surging tides. Turtles in nearly half of those had already hatched out.

Millions of pecans burn

Millions of pounds of Georgia’s pecans are up in flames in south Georgia. The fire, which began Tuesday afternoon, engulfed two warehouses of Camilla Commodity Services, Inc., in Mitchell County. Officials say the fire is under control, though it is still burning today. Firefighters from several counties have been helping fight the blaze.

Mitchell County schools have been closed since Tuesday afternoon due to low water pressure from the firefighting efforts. Local news outlets are reporting early estimates of 8 to 10 million pounds of pecans lost in the fire. That’s roughly 5 to 7 percent of this year’s bumper pecan crop in Georgia. A pecan expert at UGA estimates Georgia farmers harvested 140 million pounds of pecans this season. There’s no word on the cause of the fire. Neither the Camilla Fire Chief nor a spokesman for the company could be reached for comment.

Georgia + drought = No. 1 pecan state in '07

(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.

Federal assistance for Georgia farmers

Farmers in all but one Georgia county can apply for federal disaster loans. The Farm Service Agency approved the disaster designation for 158 Georgia counties.

An April freeze hit Georgia farmers across the state hard … ultimately inflicting $258 million dollars worth of damage to Georgia crops. Blueberries took the heaviest blow … losing 86% of their normal value. Georgia lost 78% worth of pecans … and 29% in peaches.

Only farmers in Clay County are not eligible for federal loans.