Did you know that Georgia is the top pecan producing state in the U.S, and that pecans contribute approximately $285 million to Georgia’s economy each year? Pecan farms range in scale from small operations of less than an acre all the way up to operations with thousands of acres. In 2021, Lincoln County UGA Extension offered two pecan production workshops for folks interested in producing these nuts- and we’re just a short week away from our 2022 workshop. Today, I wanted to share a bit about what you can expect and how to register for this program.
Some of the most common questions I get in the Extension office are about pest and disease management in pecan trees. Insects and diseases are very common and can completely destroy a crop. It’s important to understand how to identify what is happening in your trees and what you need to do in order to control the problem. This year’s workshop will emphasize pest management with demonstrations of pest scouting and control methods. We will also discuss the use of pre-emergent herbicides in an orchard, which are commonly used to help make harvest of the nuts easier later in the year. A final topic of discussion will be fertilization and how to reduce expenses this year given input costs. We will be offering 3 hours of Category 21 and 1 hour of Category 10 Georgia pesticide applicator continuing education credits for this program.
Our host this year is Jolly Pecan Farm in Sparta, Georgia. We selected this location because it is a new producer (approximately 5 years old) who has over 1,400 trees in the ground on the property. They have an older orchard that is currently producing nuts as well as trees that are 1, 2, 3, and 4 years of age. The operation has the ability to share how they have strategically grown their business each year and can show several stages of land clearing and preparation for tree nut production.
We understand that not everyone is interesting in producing pecans on this scale, but we hope that the information will be useful to producers of any size. Whether you have two pecan trees or two thousand, we would love to have you. This opportunity will also allow you to connect with other producers in the region, our area pecan agent, and representatives from the UGA Small Business Development Center and the Georgia Pecan Grower’s Association. The Northeast Georgia Pecan Producers Workshop will be held on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 from 9AM-1PM at 6090 Shoals Rd, Sparta GA, 31087. Registration is $20 per person and covers lunch and a printed notebook. If you are interested in attending, please register at tinyurl.com/NEPecan22 or contact us at 706-359-3233 or uge3181@uga.edu
