By Clint Thompson
Georgia pecan producers can mark their calendars for the upcoming county production meetings scheduled over the next couple of months.
The scheduled meetings include stops in Appling County (Jan. 31), Grady County (Feb. 1), Toombs, Treutlen and Montgomery counties (Feb. 7), Tattnall County (Feb. 13), Colquitt County (Feb. 16), Cook County (March 1), Irwin County (breakfast meeting on March 14), Berrien County (lunch meeting on March 14, Mitchell County (March 15) and Dougherty County (supper on March 16).
All meetings are scheduled for lunch unless specified otherwise. This year’s speakers include University of Georgia (UGA) specialists, Andrew Sawyer, entomologist Apurba Barman and/or entomologist Will Hudson and Lenny Wells.
“The county meetings are a great opportunity for the growers to get together and discuss what’s been going on and what happened in the previous season,” Wells said. “They can hear some perspectives from us and how that compares from what we’ve seen statewide. It also gives them the opportunity to hear from us about any new developments, certainly with regards to the chemicals we may use. We give them an idea about what our research has shown, things that we need to do to try to improve production.
“The part I’ll be discussing is the cost of production. How can we bring that down and still make good pecans? That’s the one thing we can control right now is the costs.”
Those interested in attending a meeting should contact their local county Extension office for the exact location and time. UGA Extension will be scheduling additional meetings. The UGA Extension Pecan Blog will be updated as those meetings are scheduled.