Missouri Northern Pecan Growers, LLC
Distinguishing an organic, geographically-based product identity
Overview
Missouri Northern Pecan Growers (MNPG) is a value-added pecan processing LLC comprised
of three pecan growers from the Nevada, MO area, near the state’s western border with Kansas.
Each year the company buys pecans from between twenty-five and fifty different growers,
mostly from in and around Vernon County, MO (which leads the nation in acres of organic
pecan production). Missouri Northern ships some pecans in-shell, and also processes the nuts
into a modest array of value-added products available for purchase on the company’s website
and at retail outlets throughout the country.1
History and Business Structure
Managing partner Drew Kimmell had been in the pecan business for several decades before
helping start Missouri Northern Pecan Growers, LLC in 1999. But, according to him, pecans in
Missouri—the northern reaches of the pecan’s natural range—were undervalued: “[Y]ou make
as much money as you can by selling on roadside stands and then you wait for the big southern
companies to offer you something and you took whatever they were willing to pay." Missouri
growers were the proverbial “price-takers.” Additionally, pecans from more northerly areas like
Missouri tend to be smaller than their southern counterparts, making it difficult to convince
retailers that they will sell in a “bigger is better” marketplace. Kimmel, along with six original
grower-partners, created Missouri Northern Pecan Growers in order to give these northern
pecans a distinct identity and make them more marketable.2 This unique “northern pecan”
identity hinges on its apparent sweetness compared to its southern hybrid relatives (see
“Marketing” below). While slightly smaller than pecans grown in the south, the Missouri
Northern website boasts of the “unique sweetness” and higher oil content of the pecans that
“grow naturally in the rich river bottom soils of Missouri.” By aggregating nuts from northern
pecan growers, Missouri Northern sought to create a brand that would change the way these
smaller pecans were perceived.
The more immediate impetus for pursuing collective processing, however, stemmed from
the laborious process of cleaning the pecans for sale. According to one MNPG partner, “So many
times you would harvest your pecans in the daytime. [You would] just work so hard, and at night
you had to clean them so you [had] something to sell.” So, growers held public meetings with as
many as 70 participants about whether to collectively build a cleaning plant. The hope was that
they could “hire somebody to run the cleaning plant and we could harvest during the daytime and
sleep at night.” When they began discussing financial contributions, the 70 interested participants
quickly dwindled to seven. At some of the initial business meetings, the idea of becoming a
1
Missouri Northern Pecan Growers, Accessed February 17, 2013. http://www.mopecans.com/.
Ben Holman, “Pecan producer promotes Vernon County agriculture,” Nevada Daily Mail, September 6, 2004,
http://www.nevadadailymail.com/story/1075682.html.
2
1
cooperative was discussed. An attorney present advised that a “full-fledged co-op” would cost
between $50,000 and $75,000 whereas an LLC could be started for $5,000. In the words of one
of the original partners, “Guess which one we chose?” Having opted for the LLC, Kimmel and
four grower-partners pooled their money in 2001, bought some land, and put up a processing
facility in Nevada, MO.3 They installed a state-of-the-art pecan cleaner, but found that it was
only marginally useful since it had been designed for the larger, grafted pecan varieties grown
farther south. (While southern cultivars may have as few as 30-60 nuts per pound, northern
native varieties can have up to 150 nuts per pound.)
While the original cleaning machine didn’t work as well as expected, it was a first step
toward streamlining collective processing and marketing. The year before the processing facility
was built, the LLC had started contracting with shellers in Arkansas and Texas to custom shell
and package their pecans. These first-year sales in 2000 failed to break $10,000.4 As MNPG
worked on developing markets, they cleaned the pecans in their own facility, but continued to
contract with the custom shellers in order to avoid the huge investment in their own shelling
technology. The LLC’s managing partner views this decision as having been vitally important:
“[W]e didn’t have to invest the three, four, five hundred thousand dollars in a small shelling
plant. That allowed us to develop our market…and if you develop your market first, you know
whether or not it’s going to fly.” By the time MNPG deemed it necessary to make the expensive
investment in its own equipment in 2007, “we had [enough] customers that we just bowled ahead
and put in our own shelling plant. But I would not recommend it from the get-go. Develop your
market first.”
Part of developing and solidifying MNPG’s market was the decision to launch “Certified
Organic” pecans in 2003. Since then, business has grown significantly and the company has
employed innovative strategies (such as pursuing a Geographic Indication for northern pecans) to
maintain its product’s uniqueness in a larger marketplace.5 Satisfying the increased demand,
however, can be challenging given significant variation in annual yield. In 2007, for example, a
late spring freeze, valley flooding, and a walnut caterpillar infestation all but decimated the
pecan crop.6 An excellent year in 2009 was followed two years later by a 2011 harvest that was
less than fifty percent what it would have been in a good year.7 2012 once again brought a
“bumper crop.” Generally, Missouri Northern can expect a great year, a bad year, and three
somewhere in-between in any given five-year period.8 Negotiating these up and down cycles has
been a significant challenge for the LLC during its thirteen year history.
3
Campbell, James R. “Area pecan business off this year,” Fort Scott Tribune, December 10, 2011,
http://www.fstribune.com/story/1793352.html.
4
Joe Wilson, “Defining Our Production Region: 2009 Annual Report,” USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research &
Education, http://mysare.sare.org/mySARE/ProjectReport.aspx?do=viewRept&pn=FNC08-725&y=2009&t=0.
5
Wilson, “2009 Annual Report.”
6
Wade, Lynn A, “Walnut caterpillars strip pecan, other trees of leaves,” Nevada Daily Mail, August 31, 2007,
http://www.nevadadailymail.com/story/1250661.html.
7
Campbell, “Area pecan business off.”
8
Doug Rich, “Growers are nuts about organic production,” High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal,
http://www.hpj.com/archives/2009/dec09/dec14/DrewKimmell7pixdr.cfm.
2
Operations
On average, Missouri Northern processes and sells about 500,000 pounds of pecans, 80% of
which are grown organically. While this represents a small share of the overall US pecan
industry (just less than 300 million pounds produced in 2010), it is a significant portion of the
organic pecans grown in the US (a total of 1.3 million pounds in 2008).9 After the harvest begins
around Halloween, growers from the Vernon County area start bringing their pecans to Missouri
Northern’s processing facility; the LLC is the largest buyer of in-shell pecans in the area. All
growers have family-owned farms, many of which run diversified agricultural
operations.10,11Most of the growers are certified organic, and MNPG has a verbal agreement
whereby it buys all of its organic growers’ pecans at a premium above the conventional price.
Depending on the conventional market, the premium has ranged from 10% to 100%. While
MNPG buys some pecans from orchards that aren’t certified organic, the managing partner notes
that they eschew plantings sprayed with pesticides or fungicides: “I know everybody that’s got a
sprayer, and don’t buy pecans from them.”
Due to the alternate-bearing tendency of pecans, it is important for Missouri Northern to
capitalize on a good year by storing the in-shell nuts. Pecans are sent to cold-storage immediately
after harvest, then shelled and packaged just before orders are shipped. Missouri Northern
contracts with Interstate Underground Warehouse in Kansas City to store the nuts, enhancing its
ability to more flexibly supply orders from health food and specialty stores all over the world.12
Currently, MNPG has between 600,000 and 700,000 pounds stored at 0 degrees Fahrenheit—the
temperature required for long-term preservation of the pecans. Although it requires a lot of
trucking, the ability to store nuts long-term is vital so that the processing facility can run yearround, allowing the nuts to be cracked only just before being shipped. The company employs six
people on a year-round basis, and hires three additional workers for the fall and early winter
harvest. Employees at the plant operate shelling and nutmeat separating machines while picking
out any extra debris and preparing the final products for storage or shipping.13
Value-added Products and Marketing
Missouri Northern Pecan Growers’ strategy is to differentiate its pecans from others in the
market by “being northern, being native, and being organic.”14 In this sense, Missouri Northern
offers a “value-added” product even before any processing has taken place. After all, the original
goal of the enterprise was not to produce a specific processed product; it was to pool native
9
Malinda Geisler and Kimberly L. Morgan. “Pecans,” last modified July, 2012, Agricultural Marketing Resource
Center, http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/nuts/pecans/.
10
Colette LeFebvre, “Pecan crop looking healthy,” Nevada Daily Mail, July 26, 2006,
http://www.nevadadailymail.com/story/1166570.html.
11
Joe Wilson, “Defining Our Production Region: 2010 Final Report,” USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research &
Education, http://mysare.sare.org/mySARE/ProjectReport.aspx?do=viewRept&pn=FNC08-725&y=2010&t=1.
12
Campbell, “Area pecan business off.”
13
Ibid.
14
Rich, “Growers are nuts about organic production.”
3
“northern” native pecans varieties and to differentiate them from southern varieties. This was
especially important given the pecans’ smaller, harder-to-market size. The language on the label
of a three-pound bag of organic pecans available for purchase from the company’s website
exemplifies this attempt to differentiate: “Cooler climate, slower growth make these rare pecans
sweeter and better tasting. Delicacy of the Osage Indians.” This label accomplishes two things
from a marketing standpoint: it makes claims about the superior taste of northern pecans, and it
situates the product in a local geographical and cultural context. It tells the beginning of a story.
“Sweeter and better tasting:” According to the University of Missouri Center for
Agroforestry newsletter Green Horizons, “From the first bite of a native Missouri pecan, people
know there's something special and different about these nuts.”15 While anecdotal accounts of
“difference” or “specialness” can be vague, the claim of a unique northern pecan taste has a
scientific basis. Some have proposed a link between the distinct flavor of northern pecans and
their higher oil content when compared to southern pecans. In the 1970s, one Missouri grower
sent his pecans to a lab for analysis, and the results showed a 73% oil content compared to
southern grown pecans which averaged around 60%.16 In marketing its pecans, Missouri
Northern has adopted the pithy phrase “sweeter by nature” to imply that its native “unimproved”
varieties offer a richer experience for the consumer’s palate.17 Currently, Missouri Northern is
laying the groundwork for creating a “Geographic Indication” which would legally distinguish
northern pecans from those grown farther south (see below).
“Delicacy of the Osage:” Missouri Northern’s profile on LocalHarvest, a website that
connects consumers to locally-grown produce, emphasizes its historical and geographical
context: “We are a group of pecan growers organize[d] to create better markets for our unique
northern grown native pecans. Our pecan trees grow wild in the flood plains of the Osage River.
Some of our trees are over 200 years old, bearing the same nuts once used by the Osage Indians.”
They are different from the “clone varieties commonly sold in stores today.” Evoking these
images and ideas of permanence, rarity, nativity and place is a way of adding value to their
product without so much as cracking a nut. As described by a current MNPG partner, “They’re
wild trees actually planted by God and the squirrels. They’re not in rows. Some of our trees were
producing pecans when George Washington was a boy. And that sells really well on the West
Coast.” As Missouri Northern grew it began to access larger markets, selling its products in
chain stores such as Hy-Vee and IGA.18 Eventually, they were selling nuts in California and all
across the Midwest. With this geographical market expansion, Missouri Northern’s pecans might
not be deemed “local” by someone who strictly interprets the word. But even though they may
sometimes travel over a thousand miles before reaching the consumer, Missouri Northern’s
pecans can be considered “local” in that they are distinctly from a particular place. The company
15
Rachel McCoy, “Missouri pecan growers seek ‘sweet spot’ in organic market,” Green Horizons 8 (summer 2004),
http://agebb.missouri.edu/agforest/archives/v8n3/gh2.htm
16
Dusty Walter, “Value Added: The means to a more profitable end,” Green Horizons 7 (winter 2003),
http://agebb.missouri.edu/agforest/archives/v7n3/gh1.htm.
17
McCoy, “Missouri pecan growers.”
18
Dusty Walter, “Value Added.”
4
markets its products as non-commodities; they are specialties from a particular geographic
region, and they have a particular narrative.
Part of the narrative has to do with who is growing the pecans that Missouri Northern
processes. The company website’s home page notes that Missouri Northern buys their nuts from
“local growers.” The “Our Growers” tab then leads to a page showcasing eight photographs of
various growers and families, most of whom are standing in their pecan grove. One caption
beneath an older overall-clad farmer and his wife boasts “One Family Farm since 1877.” For
many growers, the pecan is considered a secondary crop that helps diversify their income. As
quoted in the Nevada Daily Mail, Kimmel recognizes that “The cow-calf pair shading
themselves under the pecan tree makes the farmer more money than the pecans.”19 But Missouri
Northern can be seen as providing services (buying pecans and promoting a niche market) that
help perpetuate a particular way of rural life by allowing farmers to diversify their operations. In
a more stylized way, the “Gourmet Recipes” section of the website is also curated to evoke a
“down home” feel. The page invites online visitors to enjoy some recipes “straight from
Granny’s secret cookbook” adding that “She’s still a little upset that we shared them, but she’s
getting over it!” As the company has grown, it has clearly made an effort to convey that a
“family farm” ethos still undergirds the business.
Going Organic: While Missouri Northern had always guaranteed that its pecans would be
pesticide, fungicide, and herbicide-free, 2003 marked its first year offering USDA certified
organic pecans. The LLC saw it as way to reach a new (and growing) clientele and also as a way
to further differentiate its product.20 After the national organic program was signed into law in
2002, and the state of Missouri became a certifier in September, 2003, MNPG “met them at the
door with 16 different farmer requests to become certified organic.” Missouri Northern markets
the organic pecans under the “American Native” brand and views these product offerings as a
way to communicate that they are “serious about offering a product that is not only healthy for
[customers], but also protects the environment from unnecessary pollutants.”21 After entering
into the organic market, the company grew significantly. According to managing partner Drew
Kimmell, becoming certified organic “really opened the doors for us.”22
The organic certification process required a lot of administrative work, but the
certification and conversion of the orchards was not perceived as being particularly burdensome.
While the marketing director at the time described the process as “a lot of paperwork,” managing
partner Drew Kimmel noted that it was “easier than it sounds” because most growers hadn’t
applied many chemicals to their groves from the outset. Once these groves were determined to
have been free of chemicals for the past three years they were able to gain certification. 23
Missouri Northern currently uses third-party certifier OneCert of Lincoln, NE for their organic
pecan certification.
19
Holman, “Pecan producer.”
Ibid.
21
Missouri Northern Pecan Growers, Accessed February 25, 2013. http://www.mopecans.com/.
22
Rich, “Growers are nuts about organic production.”
23
Holman, “Pecan producer.”
20
5
Pursuing a Geographic Indication (GI): A geographic indication, or GI, is a legally
protected sign or mark used to convey the geographic origin of a particular good. They are used
when that good’s essential quality or character is attributable to its place of origin.24 GIs are both
more common and more historically entrenched in Europe but do exist as trademark-like legal
protections in the United States. While most of the 1,000 or so GIs recognized in the US pertain
to wines and spirits (e.g. Napa wines), other products such as Florida Citrus, Washington State
Apples, Idaho Potatoes, and Vidalia Onions are also examples of protected geographic
indications.25 In recent years, consumers, chefs and businesses alike have contributed to an
increasing demand for local foods. While for some consumers “local” means food produced
within a certain distance of the end-user, others construe local to mean food that is of a particular
geographical place or culture. As smaller growers from various regions or microclimates start
marketing to larger audiences, finding ways to express the local uniqueness of their goods can be
difficult. Geographic indications can help link foods more closely with their unique geographic
and climatic origins, potentially aiding rural development on a regional scale.26
GIs are necessarily exclusive to growers in a particular region, so one of the first steps in
developing a geographical indication is defining the region to which it will apply. In 2009,
Missouri Northern received a $14,900 Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE)
grant from the USDA to start defining a production region for Missouri pecans. As Missouri
Northern grew as a business they started to experience increased competition from both domestic
and foreign sources. With increased exposure in larger regional markets, the uniqueness of their
product might be lost. Native pecan varieties (as opposed to improved cultivars), a shorter
growing season, and special handling that allows the nuts to remain in-shell until just before
shipping result in what the company contends are smaller, sweeter, fresher nuts. To enhance their
brand and prevent commoditization of their pecans as they scale up to larger markets, Missouri
Northern has developed a robust place-based marketing strategy.27
The LLC is using the SARE grant in an effort to delineate a “Northern growing region”
for pecans, helping to build the overall strength of the “Northern Pecan” brand. In this endeavor
they are partnering with an ethnobotanist at St. Louis University and Dr. Elizabeth Barham, GI
expert and leader of the Missouri Regional Cuisines Project. The goal is to analyze DNA from
native pecans from groves in Missouri Northern’s production region of Missouri, Kansas and
Oklahoma in order to determine their distinctness from southern varieties. While final genetic
analysis comparing northern pecans to southern pecan varieties will be forthcoming, the research
team has discovered significant genetic variation among the northern pecan samples, with degree
of genetic variation not correlating with the geographic distance between different groves. The
hope is to eventually show genetic distinctness between Northern and Southern native pecan
24
“What are Geographical Indications?” The United States Patent and Trademark Office, accessed March 4, 2013,
http://www.uspto.gov/ip/global/geographical/faq/index.jsp.
25
Daniele Giovannucci et al. Guide to Geographic Indications (Geneva: International Trade Centre, 2009), 64.
26
Daniele Giocannucci, Elizabeth Barham and Richard Pirog, “Defining and Marketing ‘Local’ Foods: Geographical
Indications for US Products,” The Journal of World Intellectual Property 13 (2010).
27
Wilson, “Defining Our Production Region: 2009 Annual Report”
6
varieties, although results may actually show that climatic factors are more responsible for the
differences between the two.28
Overall, Missouri Northern views this effort as a way to help “capture as much value
from marketing highly differentiated pecans as possible.” In doing so, the company sees itself as
a conduit of rural development, aiding the local farm families who use pecan sales as a way to
diversify farm revenue. Additionally, obtaining a GI may be a way to secure a regional food
culture by supporting a local, native crop. Perhaps most importantly, Missouri Northern
explicitly states in one of its SARE annual reports that it envisions its pursuit of a geographic
indication as a pilot project which may help inform other grower groups seeking GIs in the
future.29, 30Though he is enthusiastic about using a GI to further differentiate northern pecans,
one MNPG partner acknowledged that progress has been very slow, and that general resistance
to GIs by large US food corporations is likely to keep it that way. While a useful tool, he noted
that “I don’t truly think just having a GI is going to make or break anybody.”
Products and customers: Missouri Northern sells both “Certified Organic” and “Pesticide
Free” pecans.31 On their website, the company’s retail offerings consist mainly of different sized
bags of organic and conventional pecans, as well as an array of pecan-based chocolate candies.
One particular product, a “Topping Pieces” shaker, is an innovative way to cut down on wasted
product. Inspired by the shaker bottles of Parmesan cheese, the shaker is full of small pecans and
pecan pieces that would otherwise be unmarketable.32 The online description on Missouri
Northern’s website suggests using the shaker for adding “nutrition and a sweet, nutty flavor” to
everything from salads to ice cream. Given that only a small percentage of any in-shell nut
consists of edible kernel, another way to reduce waste is to find ways to market the rest of the
nut. In this vein, Missouri Northern has explored selling the shells to customers who would burn
them in pellet stoves; one farmer has even used the shells to help heat his poultry barn.33
While one partner acknowledges that there is money to made in retail sales, he claimed it
would only make sense if the cash register is going every two minutes: “We’ve got a retail store,
but it probably does (only) 2-3% of gross. It’s not even worth having.” The biggest part of the
business, by far, is selling wholesale organic pecans to confectioners and distributors. Missouri
Northern’s wholesale customer base is diverse, ranging from small specialty stores, bakeries and
confectioners to the Hy-Vee supermarket chain. This is just how managing partner Drew
Kimmell prefers it. As quoted in the High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal, Kimmell would “rather
have 200 small customers than two big customers” since if one goes out of business or finds
another supplier, it causes much less disruption for Missouri Northern. MNPG has sold
wholesale to the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, England, Saudi Arabia and Dubai
among other countries. National food and trade shows have been an important place to make
28
Wilson, “Defining Our Production Region: 2010 Final Report.”
Wilson, “Defining Our Production Region: 2009 Annual Report”
30
Wilson, “Defining Our Production Region: 2010 Final Report.”
31
Ibid.
32
Rich, “Growers are nuts about organic production.”
33
Ibid.
29
7
contacts with these wholesale buyers. At the 2004 organic trade show in Chicago, for example,
they met wholesalers from England who, in 2006 ended up buying $300,000 worth of pecans.
And while MNPG has put itself in a position where it no longer has to do much active marketing,
their website has been a way to maintain visibility with potential buyers: “It allowed commercial
buyers to find us. We don’t find many people through that, but they find us.”
Challenges
One of the most persistent challenges has been dealing with extreme fluctuations in growers’
yield from year to year (as described above). The inherent alternate-bearing nature of the nut is
probably exacerbated due to the fact that growers are concentrated in a relatively small
geographic area, so environmental phenomena affect the whole crop similarly. The first organic
crop in 2003 weighed in at 82,000lbs, and had catapulted to 700,000 lbs. by 2005. It was cut by
75% the next year, then was zero in 2007. From a management standpoint, an MNPG partner
noted that “It’s very difficult trying to balance the three legs—you have production, financing
and marketing. If you don’t know what production’s going to be, then how do I know how much
push to put into marketing?” Buying as many pecans as possible during high-yield years, then
sending them to cold storage in Kansas City has been very cost efficient, and has helped smooth
out some of the yearly fluctuation.
Another challenge lies in the fluctuating conventional pecan market. While MNPG seeks
to market highly differentiated pecans, the price they pay their growers hinges partially on that of
the conventional market. Rapidly growing Chinese demand led to a problematic price bubble
from 2009 through 2011: In 2003, Missouri Northern itself bought more pecans than China did.
Then, in 2006 China bought 9 million pounds, and by 2009 it bought 88 million pounds—about a
third of the US crop. Prices doubled, then nearly tripled, and by 2011 conventional pecans were
fetching $1.60-$1.70 per pound. Then, the bubble burst in 2012, prices plummeting to $0.55 per
pound. During the period of elevated prices, one grower who had had a longstanding relationship
with MNPG demanded to be paid a higher percentage. After prices went down, this grower
refused to renegotiate and eventually stopped selling nuts to the LLC. Fortunately, during the
price crash, MNPG was able to pay its organic growers twice the conventional price—a 100%
premium—due to the strong markets it had established. This organic premium has kept most
growers content to sell to MNPG.
The businesses’ structure as an LLC has also presented some challenges for the partners.
Two partners, for example, applied for and received six-figure USDA grants to serve as
operating capital in the business’ early years. Other original participating partners benefitted
from these grants, but hadn’t participated in the work of procuring them. Given a chance to start
from scratch, one of these two partners noted that he would incorporate as a corporation with
stock options, so those who directly benefit the company receive benefits in return. This growerowner also was responsible for originating the LLC’s organic program, convincing the growers
to get certified and doing the associated marketing. While he gets a bonus on every pound of
organic pecans that Missouri Northern sells, the pass-through taxation of an LLC makes this
8
bonus recognized as short-term personal income. If it were a corporation, he could treat this
money as a long-term capital gain instead.
Moving Forward
Missouri Northern Pecan Growers is having no trouble marketing its product; for the first time,
they are behind on filling orders. One of the partners calls Missouri’s pecans a “story food”— “I
don’t know of any other product with the exception of olive trees in Italy that are as old and
sustainable as some of our trees.” MNPG has been very successful in adding value to its pecans
by selling the “northern, native, organic” story—and backing it up with a quality product. It has
also emphasized efficient operations, finding creative ways to use as much of the nut as possible.
There has been some talk about using the shell as a mulch, but with the going rate for pecan
shells $50/ton and organic pecan halves $15,000/ton, the managing partner rhetorically asked
“which do I pay attention to?” While pecan shell mulch may not be in the immediate future,
MNPG has increased efficiency in other ways: In 2010 they received federal stimulus money to
purchase a pecan shell furnace. (The shelling process requires pecan meats to be soaked so they
don’t shatter when they go through the shelling machine. This means they must be immediately
dried afterward to ward off mold.) MNPG can now burn yesterday’s shell to dry today’s pecan
meats, cutting their propane and natural gas footprint by about 90%. Additionally, MNPG
recently installed a solar array on the roof of its processing center with the help of a local electric
utility program. It is expected to further cut utility costs by $4000 annually.
Moving forward, the LLC is continuing to solidify ways to market pecan pieces, having
realized that drought-stressed pecans don’t produce as many intact halves. Additionally, they will
keep working toward developing a Geographic Indication for northern pecans to build their
brand; however, they will do so with realistically sober expectations. In the early years of the
LLC, the following quote appeared in University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry newsletter
with respect to MNPG: “Missouri landowners have a history of harvesting native nuts, growing a
business on the premise that the nuts are sweeter and better tasting…Now these landowners are
in a position to establish a strong presence in the organic produce market, bring a host of benefits
for family farms and the state’s natural environment.”34 Almost a decade later, it appears that this
“strong presence” has indeed been established. While landowners in Vernon County only
achieve about one tenth of 2,000 pounds/acre yields found on large commercial farms in
Georgia, the native trees and drier climate drastically reduce input costs: Vernon County growers
hardly spend anything on sprays and fertilizers while their southern counterparts may spend
$1,500 to $2,000 per acre. The end result is a good deal for area landowners with pecans: low
input costs and an area business that will buy their pecans at a premium due to the strong organic
markets it has established. In the words of an MNPG partner: “We’ve hit upon a pretty good
system. The growers are happy, and we take the risk. The growers don’t have any risk. So I don’t
see how it could be any better for them.” While MNPG meets success, some envision is that it
34
Rachel McCoy, “Missouri pecan growers seek ‘sweet spot’ in organic market,” Green Horizons 8(3), Summer
2004, http://agebb.missouri.edu/agforest/archives/v8n3/gh2.htm.
9
and other value-added enterprises in the area can help stabilize and revitalize the region’s farms.
As one sanguine Columbia Daily Tribune article put it, “The upside could be the saving grace of
Missouri’s rural communities, stricken for decades by shrinking populations and farm
consolidation.”35i
35
Scott Rowson, “A new start for regional cuisines,” Columbia Daily Tribune, February 18, 2009, updated February
5, 2013, accessed February 7, 2013, http://www.columbiatribune.com/arts_life/food/a-new-start-for-regionalcuisines/article_ebaebfac-7301-51f8-9f2e-f66271cba66a.html#.URQo6GdZ1z8.
10
i
Authored by Brady Williams, University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Agroecology Program. June 2014. This work was conducted through the UW-Center for Integrated Agricultural
Systems as part of a USDA - NIFA project entitled “Developing Native and Native-European Hybrid Hazelnut
Germplasm and Agronomics for the Upper Midwest”, Donald Wyse, PD, University of Minnesota with Lois Braun,
University of Minnesota; Tony Kern, Northland College; Mike Demchik, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point;
Larry Godsey, University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry; Jason Fischbach, University of Wisconsin Extension;
and Brent McCown, Michael Bell and Michelle Miller, University of Wisconsin - Madison.
i