Are record high prices sustainable?

Pecan prices reached record highs this past season and the industry is concerned with the sustainability of these high prices. While it may be difficult to sustain these high prices this coming on-year, it appears doubtful that prices will weaken significantly. Increased demand from China has been an important factor influencing the recent surge in…

The western pecan-growing region of the United States has been fortunate in not having to deal with many of the insect pests that plague the eastern half of the pecan belt. So, when a new pest threat shows any sign of emerging in the West, the industry there is quick to respond. Several speakers at…

Pecan Professor Fred R. Brison said, “Planting a pecan tree is a rendezvous with death.” Early in my career during the pecan planting hay day of the early 1970s we saw many orchards go in overnight which failed to grow and, after a couple of years, the trees died. We cannot stick the tree in…

Many of you will say that food safety does not pertain to you on the farm but you would be wrong — more wrong than you can imagine. Recently Congress passed and the President signed the first major legislation revising and enlarging food safety law in many years. With the exception of those items that…

Many pecan growers, we’ve observed, think you should spray herbicides onto existing weeds, rather than onto soil. This concept is true for that class of herbicides referred to as post-emergence, like glyphosate (Roundup, many others) or Gramoxone. Several problems can develop if you limit your herbicide use to post-emergence herbicides only. One problem is you…

Loma Linda, California – A new research study from Loma Linda University (LLU) demonstrates that naturally occurring antioxidants in pecans may help contribute to heart health and disease prevention; the results are published in the January 2011 issue of The Journal of Nutrition. Pecans contain different forms of the antioxidant vitamin E — known as tocopherols, plus…

A team of U.S. pecan industry representatives headed north to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Jan. 23 to carry out a whirlwind two-day agenda that included meetings with six influential Canadian nut buyers. This “outbound trade mission” was the first official activity for the newly launched promotional effort dubbed U.S. Pecans, which is being funded in…

As pecan growers enter the 2011 pecan year, it is good to outline management practices which may need to be used and develop plans.  The 2010 pecan prices were the highest ever paid and growers are excited about the short and long term future. The 2010 season was an “off” year, but prices changed the season….

As a small grower in northern Oklahoma with no formal education in the art of growing pecans, I learn volumes every year through experience and observation. And every year there are things that are different, unexpected and not always understood. 2010 was no exception. For example, this year we harvested some of the largest and…

In last month’s article I highlighted some of the natural enemy predators associated with pest insects, and for this month’s article, I will touch on the arthropod parasites. As mentioned in last month’s column, the role of and importance of natural enemies (beneficials) in a pest management (IPM) system can’t be overlooked or underestimated. For…

Record native pecan prices in 2011 have created a great deal of interest in the potential management of native pecan stands in Texas. Despite the good off-year pecan crop in Texas, the native crop was fair to good at best. However, the good prices lead to healthy returns for most folks who manage and/or harvest…

Another year has passed us by and I’m sure you’ve heard or read many reflections on the events of 2010. As I sit here, pondering the last year’s pecan season, the overriding message has got to be “Wow, what a difference a year makes!!” Last year (January 2010) we were lamenting over the fact that…

The Western Pecan Growers Association will host its 45th annual conference and trade show, March 6-8, 2011, at the Hotel Encanto in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Registration is currently underway and hotel accommodations can be booked by calling the Encanto at 575-522-4300 or 866-383-0443. The WPGA group rate is $94. For a complete packet of information…

West Texas pecan growers gathered on Jan. 19 in El Paso to discuss their two biggest challenges: water availability and soil salinity issues. Jesus Reyes, the general manager of their El Paso County Water Improvement District #1, brought relatively good news on the water availability situation, at least for this season. Pecan growers in the…

In preparation for tax filing and for this coming season’s financing, I have just finished preliminary profit and loss statements for 2010. As was expected, our farming operations had a very profitable year with prices being what they are. The other side of the coin was our fundraising and gift business. That was not so…

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2011 7 a.m.              Registration – Registration Desk 7 a.m.              Exhibits Open 8:30 a.m.        Convention Call to Order and Welcome 8:40 a.m.       “The Map Funding Initiative and Other Industry Developments” – Hilton Segler 9 a.m.             “Promotional Efforts and Research Support by the National…

What you are about to read is not an article on walnut caterpillar, scorch mites or black pecan aphids — insects that come in seemingly overnight and take over your orchard. Nor is this an article describing what happens when you borrow money and the knock at the front door is your lender. Rather, this…

Last week we collected our pecan graftwood for use in April grafting. We are using stump suckers to grow graftwood for next year. In 2012 we will be grafting 14 acres of 3-year-old seedlings. It is our plan to have strong 2-inch trees and we will place the grafts 4 to 5 feet from the…

During this off-season, I want to discuss in a two-part series, beneficial insects or natural enemies associated with pecan and for this month I will highlight the predators with next month’s column devoted to the parasites. By definition, we will define “predator” as an organism that requires more than one prey to complete development. Ever…

We are considered to be a small grower. We have a ‘Maramec’ orchard that produced slightly over 20,000 pounds in 2009 with a potential of 40,000 pounds annually when the smaller trees mature. Although small, I take pecan production very seriously. Our orchard is primarily random. I began grafting existing sprouts in 1979. The annual…

THANKING THE COMMISSIONER — The Georgia Pecan Commodity Commission honored retiring Georgia Ag Commissioner Tommy Irvin, center, for 42 years in his position, making him the longest serving ag commissioner ever, according to commission president Duke Lane, right. Lane, along with Chop Evans, left, presented Irvin with this pecan wood plaque made by grower and commission…

In the book, “The Art of War” by Sun-Tzu Wu, a very famous phrase was used – “know thine enemy”. I’m not sure whether this is a direct translation or just paraphrasing (my Chinese translation skills are seriously lacking), but the meaning is that the better one understands an adversary the better chance one has…

For years growers have been talking or asking why their trees are in decline. For the last two years, I have been working with three Texas A&M orchards that were definitely in decline. It is not a good time for decline because the pecan industry is at a wonderful point in time; the world has…

The annual Texas Pecan Orchard Management Shortcourse conducted by Texas AgriLife Extension Service will again be held (Jan. 24-28, 2011) on the Texas A&M Campus in College Station in Rudder Tower. If you are planning to plant trees, or have young trees or simply need a refresher course on growing pecans, this class should indeed…