Survey IDs Pecan Marketing Opportunities

Consumers in the U.S. think about pecans – and use them – differently than most other nut varieties, according to a new national survey conducted by Blue Chip Marketing, a market research firm based in Chicago. Snacking is the most common eating occasion for nuts in general, according to the data. Meanwhile, consumers are more…

We had received some nuts into our cleaning plant last week and were beginning to tune it up when rain struck Georgia. After going the whole summer without much rain to speak of and just when harvest is ready to get underway, wouldn’t you know it — rain! It has been raining here for 3…

The North Carolina pecan industry has lost a devoted and enthusiastic leader, Bill Bunn, who passed away on Sept. 30. He was 76 years old. Billy Rogers “Bill” Bunn was a founding member and the only president the North Carolina Pecan Growers Association ever had “because of his excellent and relentless efforts on behalf of…

For many years I watched David Letterman and had a lot of laughs at someone’s expense; but as of late I’ve stopped. Life is too short to hurt anyone, but I will hand it to Letterman, his Top 10 list is interesting and it causes us to think. Here is my current, Bottom 10 list…

Dr. Ron Pegg, a University of Georgia researcher, was awarded a $1.2 million federal grant on Oct. 14 to study the nutritional benefits of pecans. The USDA grant will fund research by the UGA food science professor, who is working to expound on studies that suggest eating pecans may help protect against heart disease. He…

The Jiménez (Chihuahua, Mexico) pecan growers hosted their first full-fledged conference Sept. 23-24 and enjoyed amazing success in grower and exhibitor turnout. Billed as “Jimenuez International Forum 2011”, the meeting drew almost 800 participants, including 60 exhibiting companies. Held at Aguas Termales Las Pampas, the conference venue was unique — a water park supplied by…

During the 2009 TPGA conference the Pecan IPM Steering Committee discussed and prioritized important IPM related issues and needs for the industry during the next 3-5 years. Insecticide resistance in yellow pecan aphids, which includes the blackmargined pecan aphid, Monellia caryella and yellow pecan aphid, Monelliopsis pecanis was recognized as a high priority need. During the spring of 2010,…

Although most are ready for this year to be over, it is really hard to believe it is harvest time once again. Hopefully, most of you have a few nuts left to harvest after the brutal, horrific summer. Most improved pecan orchards have had to supply every ounce of water the trees got; so with…

The challenges and difficulties of the pecan growing season are brought to an end with harvest. After 7 or more months of spraying, mowing, scouting for insects, turning on irrigation valves and many other tasks, getting the crop into the cleaning shed brings a sense of relief and either accomplishment or disappointment depending on the…

Cherry Pecan Monkey Bread Ingredients: 1 cup pecan halves Marachino Cherries 4 cans (10-count) refrigerated biscuits 1 1/2 sticks butter 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons cinnamon Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9- or 10-inch tube pan. Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in a…

This past winter we identified several young pecan sprouts that were surrounded with briars and brush that had been previously ignored because they were not on perfectly flat ground as was the main orchard. They were close to water and beavers had already taken many other young trees in the area. The first step was…

Everyone in the pecan industry knows Texas is currently experiencing a 20-month drought. Pecans are in bad shape. If there ever was a good year for no pecans, 2011 is it. Trees are stressed to the limit and a good crop could or would kill the trees. The following are some of the signs the…

Orchard soil health is the basis of everything that takes place in the pecan orchard. The bottomland soils on which pecans grow in their native range vary considerably from those on upland sites where the trees are cultivated and grown commercially in the southeastern U.S. The loamy bottomland ridges to which pecans are adapted typically…

The pecan industry has been contributing $50,000 per year for a number of years to the International Tree Nut Council’s Nutrition Research and Education Foundation. This is the minimum amount that the foundation requires from any nut industry that wishes to be included in the foundations efforts. The nuts currently participating are almonds, brazil nuts,…

The National Pecan Shellers Association meeting was held in mid-September and they estimated the U.S. crop at 277 million pounds. As I write this, I do not have the breakdown by state but I am sure Cindy will have it elsewhere in the magazine. If you average NPSA’s 277 million with the various grower group…

The last article I wrote discussed the flowering process in pecans and the different nut drop stages a grower could expect to observe through the spring and summer months. Now that we’ve managed to keep part of the crop on the trees until September, I thought we would spend some time discussing the effects of…

ATLANTA – The National Pecan Shellers Association elected new officers and board members at the NPSA Annual Meeting in Asheville, NC, Sept. 8-10. Marty Harrell of Harrell Nut Co. was elected Chairman, replacing Helen Watts with Young Pecan Inc. whose two-year term concluded at the end of the meeting. Other officers elected include: Jerry Dowdy,…

Salmonella is known to have exceptional heat resistance when it is in foods with low moisture content. For example, it requires 11 to 75 minutes at 194 degrees F (90 degrees C) to reduce the number of Salmonella in milk chocolate by 1 log CFU (colony-forming units)/g (1 log/g = 10 cells/g). This is only…

All of Texas agriculture, landscape horticulture, and home yards are in trouble. We have had only two rains in 2011 and last year was a dry year. As one drives across the state, the severity of our statewide drought is obvious. Pastures are grazed to the soil or dead gray, ponds are dry and cattle…

As an Extension specialist, I need to be pretty good at observation. I must be able to look at a problem, diagnose it, and file it in my memory for the next opportunity. I also watch people and observe their habits. For example, I listen to what someone talks about, even if it has nothing…

The Arizona Pecan Growers Association will meet for its annual meeting Friday, Sept. 16 at the Palo Verde Holiday Inn in Tucson. A block of rooms at the hotel has been reserved for attendees. For reservations, call the Holiday Inn at 520-746-1161. AGENDA Sept. 16, 2011 7:30 a.m.            Registration – (Refreshments courtesy of Kelly Pope,…

No doubt a few of us have experienced firsthand how a “stressful” lifestyle — maybe worries about the economy or the kids — is bad news for our own health. Horticulturists and orchard managers also often speak about minimizing “stress” in our orchards so that we can maximize tree performance (and hopefully lower our own…

A few months ago I remember writing about how excited I was with all the new things going on in the industry with U.S. Pecan being formed, an industry-wide coordinated research effort spearheaded by OSU’s Mike Smith, and more research projects by the shelling industry, etc. Growers were excited about a decent profit and more…

For the second consecutive year, the Texas Pecan Board is sponsoring Texas Co-Op Power magazine’s annual holiday recipe contest. Winners will receive $5,000 in total prizes and their recipes will be published in the December 2011 issue of that publication. This year’s competition invited entries in two different categories — savory and sweet, with the grand prize…