May 2018

Educational Events Help Growers Prepare for the Season

On the morning of April 5, growers throughout Central Texas gathered in the tiny town of Goldthwaite for the annual Central Texas Pecan Short Course. Hosted by Mills County AgriLife Extension Service, the Central Texas Short Course provided local growers an opportunity to earn a total of three Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and to re-learn...

Letter from the Editor: “Tomorrow, Tomorrow”

May is another time of year that can feel like a transition. Pecan growers across the country sit on the cusp of the 2018 crop. With this month, we’ve officially entered the part of the season where our focus and energy is needed now more than ever. Sure, harvest is when we hope to truly...

Watch for Freeze Damage This Chilly Spring

As I was preparing to write this article, I was pondering what to write about this month but then mother nature gave me an unexpected and unwanted topic. Over the weekend of April 7 and 8 temperatures across the northern pecan production areas dropped below freezing. With budbreak having started on several trees in southern...

The Things We Know About Nitrogen & the Things We Don’t

As we travel through the pecan passage of time, we learn much and develop a production system for our operation. Young or old, rich or poor, beginner or expert—we all develop the best system for our trees. Since there are many pecan techniques and variables, we should never generalize as to what should or should...

Snapshots of the Pecans in Georgia & the Georgia Pecan Growers Association’s Annual Conference

A May Treat

Smoky Pecan Dip From Jessie Snyder, Faring Well, through the American Pecan Council Total 30 minutes Ingredients 1 cup fresh pecan halves 3 cups chickpeas, rinsed and drained 2 cloves garlic 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 heaping teaspoon smoked hot paprika 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper Sea salt, to taste 1/4 to 1/2 cup filtered...

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If You Want to Have Nuts, Protect Your Leaves

Well, as I sit down to write tonight, it is early April. Spring is here…right? During this first week of April, the forecast was in the low 40s in Louisiana, and the weatherman said there would be over a foot of snow in the northern U.S. by the end of the week. During the last...

Q&A with Lead Researcher on Recent Pecan Nutrition Study Tufts University

Conducted by researchers at Tufts University, a new pecan study was recently published in Nutrients, an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal. This study, titled “A Pecan-Rich Diet Improves Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial,” examined the link between eating pecans and risk for cardiometabolic diseases in adults who were...

American Pecan Council April Meeting Recap

The American Pecan Council met in Dallas, Texas on April 16 and 17 to conduct business. A total of 25 councilmembers were in attendance. During the meeting, the members voted to fill two open council positions. Adam Harrell of Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts will take on the East Alternate Large Sheller position, while Steve...

Mixing Business with Pleasure

Kids across America are in great anticipation this month. The weight of school responsibilities has worn their welcome thin, and it’s about all teachers can do to keep their students’ attention for the next several weeks. I’m certainly not a teacher, but I can sympathize with the struggle they are facing. After all, I’m facing...

Walnut Caterpillar: Early detection is the key to prevent economic loss

During the growing season, there are several major nut feeding insects—such as pecan nut casebearer and pecan weevil—whose occurrence in an orchard can be anticipated and treatments are applied based on damage threat. Although these two pests are generally considered the two most important pecan feeding insects and as such can have a tremendous impact...

Pecan Industry Launches First-Ever National Consumer Campaign

The country was introduced to American Pecans: The Original Supernut™ on April 25—and consumers may never look at pecans the same way again. The goal of this first-ever national campaign developed by the American Pecan Council is to help consumers realize that pecans are super nutritious, super delicious and super versatile. It’s a new brand...

Crossing the Agricultural & Consumer Divide

For 166 days throughout the year, Sandra Pierce is on the road. Hauling a 22-foot trailer packed with educational supplies, Pierce travels around Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma leading an AgriLife agricultural literacy program called “Kids & Kows & More.” Through this program, Pierce has a simple yet all too necessary mission: teach children the...