FORT VALLEY, Ga. — In June, the National Weather Service reported six inches of rain. The 30-year average shows it's usually around four inches for the month. Mark Sanchez, the CEO of Lane Southern Orchards says throughout the year, rain is important for pecans.
"Pecan trees use a lot of water. So rain especially late in the summer is ideal for pecans," Sanchez said.
The weather can be unpredictable and Sanchez has seen what it can do to the crop. In February, the freeze caused the farm to lose 90% of its peach crop.
Even in July, the weather caused a disturbance to the trees.
"We had some just regular thunderstorms that had a lot of high winds with them. We did have a fair amount of trees blown over," Sanchez said.
Sanchez says tropical storms late in the summer can knock over the pecan trees. In September, Middle Georgia Regional has less than an inch of rain.
That's more than two inches below average. For harvest time, the drought conditions are ideal.
"When you're harvesting yeah it does help that it's dry because the equipment can run in the orchards faster, the nuts will be dry," Sanchez said.
This makes for better working conditions and can keep the equipment dry to shake the trees. Sanchez says this year, Southern Orchards expects to produce about $4 million pounds of pecans.
The process of getting pecans from trees to the store shelves includes shaking the tree, having the pecans run through a reel to remove sticks and blocks, and then going through a drying machine to get the pecans at a certain moisture level.
Sanchez says one thing is certain about this pecan season. "Everyone around here has a pretty good crop," he said.
According to the USDA, in 2022, Georgia had the highest pecan production at 126,000,000 pounds.