EDITORIAL: Marketing order for pecans a smart move

A set of hearings this week in Tifton could have a huge impact on the Southwest Georgia economy by helping the region promote one of its signature crops — pecans.

Anyone whose had a pecan pie knows how good pecans are. But that word needs to be spread.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is conducting the Georgia hearings Monday-Wednesday at the Hilton Garden Inn at Tifton on the creation of a federal marketing order that would be used to promote the pecan and to fund research on the crop. Hearings were also to be conducted in Texas and New Mexico. Those two states and Georgia produce more than 75 percent of the nation’s pecans. If the order, known as an FMO, is secured, it could go into effect as early as next year.

The FMO would cover 14 states in addition to Georgia, which is the top pecan-producing state in the nation, averaging about 88 million pounds a year, according to the Georgia Pecan Commission. That organization, one of several in Georgia that are set up by the state government to promote and educate specific agricultural crops and production, already has endorsed the creation of the FMO.

What difference can an FMO make?

National pecan organizations tell the tale of two nuts — the pecan and the almond. Almond growers got an FMO in the 1950s when pecans were the biggest of the two commodities. According to the American Pecan Board, itself only a couple of years old, in the 60-something years since almonds got an FMO, that industry has become 33 times bigger, while the pecan industry has stayed fairly flat.

Pistachio growers, meanwhile, have seen a great deal more visibility through their FMO, which has seen their marketing spending explode from about $400,000 to $10 million. And FMOs have greatly benefited the milk and beef industries over the years, making sure Americans know whether they’ve “got milk” and “what’s for dinner.”

For Dougherty County and other Southwest Georgia counties that are some of the top producers of pecans in the top production state, expansion for the commodity could bring some great economic news.

What the FMO would do is let the industry help itself. Pecan officials say proposed rates, while not finalized, would be 1-2 cents per in-shell pound for native and seedling varieties, and for substandard nuts. The assessment would be 2-3 cents per in-shell pound for improved varieties. For the order to go through, two-thirds of qualified growers — those who produce at least 50,000 pounds of pecans in a production year and/or those who have at least 30 acres of pecans as determined by the USDA Farm Service Agency — who vote on the issue will have to support its establishment.

The establishment of an FMO makes good sense for the pecan industry and has the potential to have some real economic impact on our area. We hope growers will see the wisdom of supporting the order, giving the industry and area economy both the chance to grow.