USDA reopens voting period for pecan FMO referendum

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USDA reopens voting period for pecan FMO referendum

The Agricultural Marketing Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on July 6, 2021, that it is reopening the voting period for the pecan Federal Marketing Order (FMO) referendum being conducted among eligible pecan growers across the Pecan Belt.

The voting period has been reopened for an additional 25 days from June 29, 2021, to July 23, 2021.

According to a USDA spokesperson, all industry members will be receiving an informational postcard about the reopening of the ballot period. This postcard will provide more information on the voting process and how to request a ballot if eligible.

Through this referendum, eligible pecan growers will “determine whether they favor the continuation of the marketing order regulating the handling of pecans produced in the production area.”

To be eligible to vote on the pecan FMO, growers must have produced a minimum average of 50,000 pounds of inshell pecans over the four years from Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2020, or must own a minimum of 30 pecan acres in the production area of Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. USDA will consider continuing the marketing order if at least two-thirds of the growers voting, by number or volume, vote in favor of continuance.  

Eligible growers who do not receive a ballot should contact Abigail Campos at Abigail.Campos@usda.gov or (863) 324-3375. Requests for a ballot may also be faxed to (863) 291-8614 or mailed to USDA, AMS, 1124 First Street South, Winter Haven, FL 33880.

The FMO regulates the handling of pecans produced in the United States.

Through this order and with oversight from the USDA, the American Pecan Council was founded in 2016 and tasked with building consumer demand, developing markets, establishing industry standards, and promoting pecans. Interested parties may obtain copies of the marketing order from any of the following:

  • the Southeast Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order and Agreement Division within USDA AMS through telephone at (863) 324-3375
  • the Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Specialty Crops Program, within USDA AMS through telephone at (202) 720–2491
  •  online here: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/ECFR?page=browse. 
Author Photo

Pecan South Staff