Optimize your profit, not your price

One of the most difficult aspects of running a successful business is determining how to market and price your product. Do you adopt a retail mentality with a one price policy, selling all of your crop to retail customers? Do you adopt a multitier pricing strategy and sell part of your crop to retail customers,…

While I prepared this issue, Hurricane Michael struck the Southeast. Florida, Alabama, and Georgia were hit particularly hard and growers in that region are still reeling from the devastating storm. There aren’t enough words to express how these people must be feeling. And this letter is not nearly long enough to express how I feel…

Delicious Pecan Pie Submitted by reader Corinne Johnston from Thomaston, Georgia Makes 1 pie | Cooking 25 mins. Ingredients 3 egg whites 1 cup sugar 1 tsp baking powder 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 3/4 cup chopped pecans 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped Instructions Beat egg whites until stiff, then add sugar…

Out West, growers from all over the western production region, including those who are just getting into pecans, gathered in Las Cruces at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum on Oct. 15 to participate in the biennial Western Pecan Producers Short Course. Over three days, around 100 current and future pecan producers received…

Atlanta, Georgia – Sept. 14, 2018 – The National Pecan Shellers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor the NPSA can bestow upon a member of our association in recognition of an individual’s significant contributions and lasting influence for the pecan industry. It is especially impactful as the association celebrates its 75th Anniversary in…

The American Pecan Council launched pecans’ national brand and congruent marketing campaign just a little over five months ago. Since then, “The Original Supernut” has made appearances on “Good Morning America,” been featured in numerous national publications, and been promoted by food bloggers, dietitians, and influencers. But if you’re not looking for it, the marketing campaign…

The pecan industry, led by U.S. Pecans, through years of negotiation got the Chinese tariffs on pecans down to 7 percent and now they are at 47 percent. This change will likely decrease the price of pecans and destroy markets. It is true that the Chinese have institutionalized unfair trade practices toward the U.S. and…

Continuing a fall tradition, Oklahoma and North Texas growers met on Oct. 2 at the TriAgri Farm Center in Coleman, Oklahoma for a processing plant tour, update from the Hamilton family, and a delicious barbecue dinner. Mark Hamilton led the group through the cleaning plant and emphasized that the pecans are “never touched by hand”…

Pecan Scab! Just mentioning this fungal disease makes grower’s grab their wallets. Ask just about any pecan scientist or grower and you will get the same answer. Pecan scab is the most economically important disease of pecan in the southeastern United States. It can devastate the leaves and nuts of susceptible cultivars in humid regions…

Texas A&M Pecan Orchard at the University Brazos River Farm in the 2018 season had set, sized, and filled the largest crop of the last 20 years; but it may be lost from too much rain at harvest. Our June, July, and August were some of the driest months on record, and now, we have…

Before I get into writing on another topic in pecans here, I want to take a moment and extend my deepest sympathy to our pecan friends who may have been injured or even worse affected by Hurricane Michael that swept through the lower southeastern pecan production region last month. One thing for sure, we all…

About a month out, growers in the Southeast are still reeling from Hurricane Michael’s destruction. Each day the damage becomes more and more apparent, and Georgia growers now say that the state’s pecan industry will take decades to recover. “This is a forever lost,” says one South Georgia grower. “In my lifetime, I won’t see…

China has been the No. 1 importer for the pecan market since 2000, and import levels, in general, have shown a consistent upward trend since that time. Shipments to China accounted for 51 percent in 2017 of all American pecan exports compared to 44 percent in 2016. In recent years, pecan planting has boomed in…

Starting around mid-September and continuing through October, I routinely receive samples and email pictures of pecans from producers and homeowners that want to know “What is feeding in the pecan shucks?” In fact, I received two samples in one week from a homeowner with that very same question. There are two moth larvae that I…

Hurricane Michael struck Southwest Georgia early Thursday morning as a Category 3 before weakening to a Cat 2 and 1 as it marched across the state. Along the way, the storm downed trees and power lines, swept away pecans, and endangered thousands. Moving fast, it has now traveled into the Carolinas and is predicted to…

Harvest is a dividing line for two important phases of pecan production. The “preharvest” phase involves everything that goes into setting, growing and protecting a pecan crop while it is on the tree. We generally count all of the 200 plus days from budbreak to shucksplit as the pre-harvest period, but it includes the care…

Banana Nut Bread Submitted by Bert Hammons Makes 1 loaf to serve 8 to 10 | Cooking 45 mins. Ingredients 3 medium bananas, mashed ½ cup pecan oil (reader recommends Kinloch Plantation Pecan Oil) 2 eggs 1 cup sugar 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½…

The American Pecan Council launched pecans’ national brand and congruent marketing campaign just a little over four months ago. Since then, “The Original Supernut” has made appearances on “Good Morning America,” been featured in numerous national publications, and been promoted by food bloggers, dietitians, and influencers. But if you’re not looking for it, the marketing…

Unfortunately, I think all of us, including myself, have had some experience with stored product insects. I mean who hasn’t found a moth or some beetles in their kitchen pantry. These cosmopolitan pests feed on a wide range of food materials and can be found anywhere along the food supply chain from production areas and…

Let’s put things into perspective. The president isn’t the problem with the pecan tariff; he’s trying to correct the problem, which has been running wild. China is a good customer until their trees begin to produce, which we’ll see in a few years. We have a lobbyist now who is doing the same thing that…

Pecan South October 2018 advertisers share their products and services between the pages of this issue. Below, we present a full list of our October 2018 advertisers and their contact information.