Industry News

The International Nut and Dried Fruit Council hosted a historic meeting of global health researchers, where diabetes was defined as a key topic for investigation. From October 20-21, 2022, the world’s leading researchers gathered for NUTS 2022 to discuss the current and future of health research on nuts and dried fruits. NUTS 2022 was a…

With a heavy heart and deep condolences, Pecan South announces the passing of Billy Jim Pollard, the president of Texas Pecan Nursery, Inc. He passed on Oct. 12, 2022. Read more about Mr. Pollard’s life in his obituary. Funeral services will be held on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. at the First Methodist Church…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Sept. 28, 2022, that it is updating the definition for the content claim “healthy” on food packages to be more consistent with current nutrition science and Federal dietary guidelines. According to industry representatives, the updated version is very positive for nuts. However, FDA is seeking comments on…

Bryan, Texas—The Texas Pecan Board will hold elections Oct. 28, 2022, to elect three board members in adherence to Chapter 41 of the Texas Agriculture Code. The Board was established in 1998 after pecan growers throughout Texas voted into effect a pecan assessment of $0.005 per pound to provide funds for promotion, education, and research….

On Aug. 1 and 2, the Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture, IHA, held its first workshop to engage stakeholders from the food-agriculture value chain. The workshop enabled production agriculture groups to further understand priorities, gaps, and opportunities in precision nutrition, responsive agriculture, and social and behavioral research. Bringing together more than 50…

ATHENS, GA – During the last week of September, pecan growers will receive a survey from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Information from this survey will be used to forecast pecan production for 2022. This year producers will have the option to respond securely online via a Respondent Portal. Read…

Pecan South remembers Donald “Don” Paul Mayo, owner of Orchard Machinery Corporation. Don, 78, of Live Oak, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Aug. 26, 2022. Don was born Feb. 16, 1944, in El Cajon, California, to Herb and Irene Mayo. Don was living a full life—traveling and enjoying business, family, and his…

U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai on Aug. 16 responded to Senator Raphael Warnock’s letter on India’s tariffs on American pecans. In the letter, Ambassador Tai acknowledged the “economic importance of the Indian market to U.S. pecan growers and the challenges posed by these tariffs.” “As I prepare to chair a Trade Policy Forum Ministerial…

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service on Monday extended the comment period for the proposed rule published in the Federal Register in June by 30 days. The proposed rule invited comments on the proposed revisions to the U.S. Standards for Grades of Pecans in the Shell and U.S. Standards for Grades of Shelled Pecans. Pecan industry…

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service added three additional grading documents to the proposed revised U.S. Standards for Grades of Pecans in the Shell and Shelled Pecans on the U.S. Federal Register. Industry members are encouraged to review the new documents. Pecan South will provide more information soon for the comment period on the proposed rule. Find and…

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff met with India’s Ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Meeting via video conference, Sen. Ossoff and Amb. Sandhu discussed opportunities to strengthen U.S.-India relations and issues of concern to the Indian diaspora in Georgia. Responding to the needs of Georgia farmers, Sen. Ossoff also raised objections…

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced it has signed a cooperative agreement with Texas under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA). Utilizing LFPA funding, Texas will create a program that will foster in-state, long-term relationships and build sustainable market opportunities for state producers. “USDA is excited…

In a notice to the U.S. Federal Register on June 1, 2022, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service proposes to revise the U.S. Standards for Grades of Pecans in the Shell and the U.S. Standards for Grades of Shelled Pecans by replacing the current grades with U.S. Extra Fancy, U.S. Fancy, U.S. Choice, and U.S. Standard…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports welcomes the results of a recent econometric study indicating that public-private U.S. agricultural export market development programs remain highly effective and generate a substantial return on investment. In letters sent April 27, 2022, members of the Coalition and additional organizations asked U.S. House and Senate…

Durham, North Carolina—Summit Agro USA announces the introduction of Regev HBX hybrid fungicide. This unique formulation brings new disease fighting power to growers of soybeans, rice, and pecans. “We recognized gaps in the performance of existing fungicides in these three crops, which led us to create this specially formulated hybrid product,” said Dr. Eric Tedford,…

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disaster events in 2020 and 2021 will soon begin receiving emergency relief payments totaling approximately $6 billion through the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) new Emergency Relief Program (ERP) to offset crop yield and value losses. “For…

Fort Worth, Texas—The American Pecan Council (APC) has released the draft of the voluntary Quality Assurance Program (QAP) for the U.S. pecan industry for public comment and will be collecting feedback through our QAP survey. Learn more in the full press release here.

Today, on National Pecan Day, we celebrate the only major tree nut native to America. In honor of pecans, the American pecan industry’s official trade magazine, Pecan South, is publishing a free consumer magazine all about pecans. Anyone can access this nutty magazine, called Pieces of Pecan, online at Pecan South’s website. “This National Pecan Day,…

The American Pecan Council grower and sheller nominations for the 2022-2026 term seats officially opened on Feb. 16. With the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the APC is actively seeking nominations for Council members and alternates for seats whose terms are ending in 2022. The current seats open for elections are based on majority vote. Nominees…

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday addressed U.S. producers’ concerns that China is continuing to fall short on its commitments to purchase U.S. agricultural goods. “We obviously have some unfinished businesses with reference to phase one, and we continue to press China to increase their purchases,” Vilsack testified during a House Agriculture Committee hearing,…

Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee sent a letter to USTR Ambassador Tai to encourage more aggressive enforcement of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In the letter, Senators Wyden and Crapo write, “The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA” or the “Agreement”) has the potential to deliver…

Texas A&M University’s Agricultural and Food Policy Center released an impact report in January 2022 that analyzes the economic impacts of higher fertilizer prices on the Center’s 64 representative crops. The analysis comes in response to a request made by U.S. Representative Julia Letlow from the 5th District of Louisiana. Read the complete analysis from…

Ambassador Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative, responded in late December to the U.S. House Ag Appropriations Chairman Stanford Bishop regarding the tariff on U.S. pecan exports to India. In her letter, Ambassador Tai acknowledges that “the Indian market has significant potential for U.S. pecans.” “In my discussions with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provided a constituent update on Dec. 6, 2021, about China’s new facility registration requirements. Within the update, FDA asks “establishments currently exporting certain food products to China to voluntarily submit information.” According to the update, China has yet to confirm that collecting this information is a prerequisite for goods…