Southwest Georgia pecan crop hit hard by Michael

Oct. 23--ALBANY -- Sunnyland Farms owner Larry Willson stood with folded arms, looking at his orchard of fallen pecan trees, littered with shattered limbs and a ready-for-harvest crop now lying on the ground.

When Hurricane Micheal roared into south Georgia on Oct. 10, Sunnyland Farms was part of the regional agriculture structure that took a major hit.

Willson, whose family planted Sunnyland's first pecan orchard in 1921, said the farm lost "25 to 30 percent of 21,000 trees" during the storm.

"Look at this. It's a mess," Willson said. "It's like a maze, and there are no straight lines in the orchards. We have to clear the debris before we can assess the true damage ... and we are going to crush a bunch of mature nuts in the process."

Georgia's pecan industry was forever changed by Hurricane Michael, according to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Pecan Specialist Lenny Wells.

In Dougherty, Lee and Mitchell counties, which produce 30 percent of Georgia's pecan crop, Wells estimates that 30-40 percent of the pecan trees were destroyed.

"Pretty much every orchard in the state has had damage of some kind," Wells said. "We're seeing limbs down, trees down, trees split. Under all of that are good nuts that have blown out of the trees."

Growers who still have trees standing are now busy cleaning up debris and limbs while trying to avoiding the harvestable nuts lying on the ground.

"In some orchards, that's going to be impossible. They're going to have to run over some to clean up, especially over in the worst-hit areas," Wells said.

Overall, Wells said he believes Georgia lost half of this year's pecan crop -- a $100 million loss from this year's crop plus $260 million in lost trees.

"Every storm is different, but Michael? I've never seen anything like it," Willson said. "The only thing comparable was probably the tornado of 1981, and that was just a 10 percent loss in trees. For many growers, to get back into full production, I'd say it will take 10 to 12 years. With young trees you are really more interested in growing a tree instead of a crop. It's going to take a while for folks in this area to recover."

According to a report from University of Georgia ag specialist Clint Thompson, one of the southwest Georgia farmers significantly impacted by Hurricane Michael was Eric Cohen, a graduate of UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and co-owner of Pecan Ridge Plantation in southwest Georgia's Decatur County.

In Bainbridge, Cohen says between 70 and 80 percent of his trees were destroyed.

"It's going to cut us down from a 1,400-acre operation, I'm pretty sure, to a 400- or 500-acre operation. We've just got to pray we can withstand it," Cohen said. "The problem with pecans is, you insure this year's crop. That tree that is gone is not insurable. It's not like cotton or corn that can be replanted. You're looking at 10 years (before a new pecan tree can produce), but it's just the life of a pecan farmer."

Willson said there wasn't a pecan grower south of Macon who was not affected by Michael's wrath.

"There was a little four-minute segment on NPR the other morning and they were talking with Mitch Bulger at Pine Knoll Plantation. He said they were going to clear cut and replant," Willson said. "And we'll probably also do that on some of our smaller groves."

According to Wells, what we may see different in future orchards resulting from the storm's damage will likely be in the varieties of pecan grown in Georgia.

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