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Bowie County pecan farmers find success with retailing outlet |
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By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition |
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October 31, 2002 -- With the holiday season almost here, cooks are beginning to plan their holiday baking. A popular ingredient for baking is pecans. For those cooks who don't have a pecan tree in the backyard, there are several pecan orchards in East Texas with retail outlets. One such orchard is Gary and Annell Langdon's Farm in Texarkana. The 800-acre farm lies close to the Red River and is home to three types of pecan trees: Stuarts, Natives and Desirables. The Stuarts and Desirables are papershell varieties. "The Natives are over 100-years-old," Annell said about the trees on their farm. Recently, Langdon's farm hosted a Bowie County Pecan Field Day which was sponsored by several groups, including the Texas Cooperative Extension. Pecan producers and pecan lovers were informed about pecan management, insect and disease control, market outlook, and fertility management. "The key ingredient for a pecan grower is you have got to be out in the orchard," said George Hedger, a horticulturist consultant from Oklahoma. "If you are not, you are not going to be up-to-date of what's going on." After the meeting, everybody who wanted to go was taken on a hayride through the orchard where different varieties were pointed out. Some of the larger trees showed signs of webworms. Webworms are a foliage feeder that create a spider-like web at the end of a tree limb. All feeding takes place within the web. A high number of webs in trees will reduce the nut production. They also were told by Hedger that pecan trees did not like competition from grass, weeds or other trees. "If you see over 60 percent shade, then your trees are too tight," Hedger said. "The trees need to be thinned." Thinning their orchard was something the Langfords did three years ago. "We took out half of the trees because they were overcrowded and robbing each other of nutrients and sunlight," Annell stated. Then came the December 2000 ice storm. The storm left the Langdons, along with most East Texans, with many toppled trees. "Hardly a tree was not damaged by the storm. We lost many total trees," Annell said. "The pecan barn was open for about two weeks. The orchard is still not totally cleaned up. There are still some dead limbs in the trees that will need to come down." Annell said it was hard to see some of the century-old trees lying on the ground. The orchard, also known as the Cabe Orchard, has gone through many employees. "There is a rich history of people in the area who worked here. I know when they worked here by what people call it," Annell said. Many of these people worked during the harvest season, which is right around the corner. "You have to wait for a hard freeze or frost. You can not harvest before they are ready or the pecans will mildew," Annell cited. "We are going to have a pretty good crop this year," Gary said. "Price-wise (for retail), you are looking at $1.50 per pound for papershells. I then charge 25 cents per pound to crack. You would be surprised how many people don't want their pecans cracked. Wholesale pricing is $1.25 to $1.75 depending on quality. Native pricing wholesale would probably be in the mid-60 (cent) range." The Langdons are projecting the retail barn to open around Nov. 10. They will be open six days a week, Monday thru Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Christmas. For more information, call the Langdons at (903)792-7606. |
