By Clint Thompson
Pecan season has concluded in Georgia. That means the University of Georgia Extension meetings will soon be held throughout southern and central Georgia. The meetings are slated to start on Jan. 28 in Tattnall County and conclude on March 20 in Dougherty County The complete list of dates and locations include:
Jan 28: Tattnall; Jan 30: Appling; Feb 4: Crisp; Feb 11: Toombs/Tattnall/Montgomery; Feb 13: Colquitt; Feb 17: Grady; Feb 18: Peach; Feb 25: Laurens; Feb 26: Sumter; March 11: Thomas; March 12: Berrien; March 13: Irwin/Ben Hill (Breakfast); March 13: Mitchell (Lunch); March 20: Dougherty/Lee (Supper).
Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Extension pecan specialist, highlighted what growers can expect when attending this year’s meetings, which includes whether to replant for growers following Hurricane Helene.
“If you do plant back, what varieties do you need to go back with? We’ll keep talking about the same things we’ve been talking about for a while,” Wells said. “The key at this point is you absolutely have to be able to grow them for less money, regardless of what variety you have. With some varieties that’s going to almost be impossible. But there are things, no matter what variety we’re growing, there are some things we can do to cut that cost some.
“That’s really what we’ve got to look at. We’ve got to cut costs. Anywhere you can cut them, even if it’s just by a little bit, anything you can do to bring that cost of production down is going to give you a better chance. That’s some of the stuff we’ll be covering.”
All meetings are lunch meetings unless shown otherwise. Contact your local county office for details on locations and exact times.