Pecan farmers in Georgia are still assessing the damage to crops following Hurricane Helene at the end of September, and it could be months before they know the true extent of the devastation.
With pecan harvesting set to begin in early October, Helene’s late-September arrival left many farmers with hundreds of toppled trees and scores of ripe and unripened nuts littering the ground.
According to The Augusta Chronicle, 75% of the 2024 pecan crop in Georgia was lost to Helene. That’s approximately 36 million pounds of pecans.
University of Georgia Professor of Horticulture and Extension Horticulture Specialist for Pecans Lenny Wells estimates winds between 82 and 109 miles per hour during the height of the storm caused catastrophic damage stretching north-northeast from Brooks to Lowndes counties.
Georgia is the country’s top pecan producer. Most of the state’s pecan farms are located within the 260-mile damage path. Close to 42,000 pecan trees were destroyed by Helene’s winds, totaling $138 million in damage and lost revenue for Georgia pecan farms caught in the crosshairs of the hurricane.
But recovering from the storm damage will go far beyond simply cleaning up farms and replanting trees. Pecan trees are slow growers and don’t start producing nuts for 10 years. Some of the trees destroyed by the hurricane were over 100 years old. The long-term economic impact for Georgia pecan farms could reach as much as $417 million to clean up, replant, and factor in years of lost revenue as they continue to rebuild.
How to help
Buy Georgia pecans. Here’s a list from Georgia Grown to get you started.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture recently launched Weathered But Strong, a hurricane relief fund hoping to raise at least $1 million in financial aid for affected farms by December. You can donate directly to the fund.
Fort Valley, Georgia, peach and pecan farm Pearson Farm will partner with several restaurants across Georgia, including in Atlanta, to host a special pecan farm fundraiser. From Oct. 25 through Oct. 31, participating restaurants will offer a special dish featuring Pearson pecans with proceeds from sales benefiting Weathered But Strong.
Check out the list of Atlanta restaurants and bakeries participating in Pecan Week:
Piedmont Heights
Daily Chew
Cascade Heights
Natalie Bianca
Poncey-Highland
Tio Lucho’s
Sweet Auburn BBQ
Colette Bread and Bakeshop
Inman Park
Kitty Dare
Kirkwood
Evergreen Butcher + Baker
Avondale Estates
Galette ATL
Decatur
The Deer and The Dove
Kindred
Marietta/Woodstock
Pie Bar
