The 2016 pecan market has opened with the crop beginning to trickle in. At this point I would still say the crop in general is about a week later than last year’s crop, which is going to put pressure on growers to meet mid-November contract dates. I expect harvest of most major varieties like Stuart, Desirable, etc. to begin in about 10 days to 2 weeks. Damage from Hurricane Matthew appears to be much more extensive than that of Tropical Storm Hermine with reports of hundreds to thousands of trees down in many orchards from Appling County up through Tattnall County and into Screven County. Damage in these and surrounding areas varies from one orchard to the next with some growers reporting minimal damage and others reporting significant tree loss, limb breakage, and loss of immature nuts blown off the tree by the wind. Its still terribly dry throughout much of the rest of the state so growers in drought areas should continue to irrigate as I mentioned in the last blog post.
Current pecan market prices can be found here. These prices will be updated throughout the season at the link provided.
