American pecan growers seek to set themselves apart with a quality assurance assurance program that takes into account good land management and stewardship practices that many growers utilize in their daily operations. 

 

Since its inception only a few short years ago, the American Pecan Council has made significant headway in offering insight into the pecan consumer, and their preferences for healthy snacks. We now know the age group and purchasing preferences, as well as what is important to the pecan shopper. 

 

With that information in hand, the American Pecan Council has now begun to formulate a good practices and good stewardship program that will allow pecan growers to take advantage of these practices and promote them to the public. 

 

The program was first mentioned several years back by APC chairperson Mr. Mike Adams at a board meeting in Dallas. The program is designed to utilize the good ecological practices being used by pecan farmers and educate the public on the benefits of these practices. 

 

 

While other agricultural crops can be a strain on the environment and local resources, pecan trees do just the opposite. Because pecan trees are planted and then produced for many years, the overall impact on the environment , like with most trees, can be very positive. 

 

One of the major benefits of pecan trees is air quality in the environment, and the pecan orchards ability to remove pollutants from the air. New Mexico State University published a well researched article on the subject. In their publication we see that pecan trees are great at sequestering carbon in the environment. Another benefit is the biomass produced by pecans.

 

 

The biomass produced by pecans can be used to power factories by burning the pecan hull material to produce power. This is already being done by several pecan operations today. Oklahoma State University published information about pecan tree biomass production in 2006. 

 

The program aims to promote the pecan industry and its environmental impacts in a positive way that everyday consumers can understand and support. As the program develops we will keep you updated on how you can find out more information.