By Clint Thompson
The University of Georgia (UGA) Pecan School on Wednesday educated potential producers and served as a reminder to veteran growers about the costly expenses associated with pecan production.
Costs for required equipment have risen from $533,000 in 2019 to $873,000 in 2023. Input prices have also increased, while pecan prices floundered to an average of $1.69 per pound the past six years.
Lenny Wells, UGA Extension pecan specialist, did not sugarcoat the challenge of making money growing pecans but insists it is possible.
“Since I’ve been in this job, even when prices were high, my advice to people who came to me wanting to get into pecan production was, ‘Do not do this unless this is something you’re going to love doing.’ There’s a lot easier ways to make money than growing pecans. You’ve got to love it to do it,” said Wells at the Pecan Beginners Course, which was held in conjunction with the Georgia Pecan Growers Association annual conference on Wednesday in Perry, Georgia.
All Not Needed at Once
A positive for growers is they won’t need all of that equipment when they first plant the trees. Most pieces of equipment are not needed until the tree begins producing a crop.
“When you plant a pecan tree, you’re looking at least until year six until you’re able to harvest anything. Then, it’s going to be relatively low volume, but it’s going to pick up over the next few years after that,” Wells said. “When you first get started and first plant an orchard, the things you’ve got to have are a tractor, mower and a herbicide sprayer. Everything else can pretty much wait until you get into the years where you start to harvest.”
Hopefully by then prices will have improved. Until then, growers need to reduce their input expenses if they expect to remain sustainable.
“I would say this is the most challenging point that I have seen in my career. You can still make money with growing pecans, but you have to do it the right way with the right varieties. Doing it the way we’ve done it commonly over the last several years does not work anymore,” Wells said.