By Clint Thompson
Most everything has been done by Southeast pecan growers to produce a crop this year. As South Georgia farmer Justin Jones puts it, everything now until harvests are out of his and other farmers’ hands.
“We’ve done our job as far as growing the pecan, keeping the tree happy,” Jones said. “It’s out of our hands at this point.”
That means growers are praying and hoping for a quiet rest of the tropical season. A hurricane or tropical storm are likely the last remaining obstacle that could diminish this year’s crop.
“The next month or so is definitely watching the tropics, making sure that nothing comes up here and takes it,” Jones said. “It looks like the price is going to be decent. We’ve got an average, maybe above average yield. Maybe we can get two of them to line up together for once in a while.”
First-Hand Experience
Jones understands first hand the impact a major storm can have on a pecan crop this time of year. Hurricane Michael moved through Southwest Georgia in 2018, devastating the state’s crop. Initial estimates from the storm were at $560 million in pecan losses with $200 million due to loss of future income.
Hurricane Helene impacted Southeast Georgia in 2024 reducing acreage from 200,000 to somewhere between 150,000 and 170,000.
“I mean it makes you question what you do for sure. You’ve got to have a lot of faith,” Jones said. “You’ve got to have a lot of faith inside of you to farm, that’s for sure. As hard as you work towards it, there are a lot of unknowns that you can’t control.
“But it works on you, because it’s just like anything else.You work hard for something. You’ve got capital involved. You’ve got workers involved that are family-like, and then all of a sudden, something comes through and it’s like a bomb explodes. It’s just picking up the pieces and trying to go back. When Michael hit, it was one of those things where you just don’t know what to do.”