The second ever pecan congress meeting went very well on Tuesday, beginning in the morning with updates from Weber Shandwick, the APC marketing firm, on how pecan growers and sellers can better utilize social media, and the digital assets created by the APC.
The Noble Foundation then gave updates on crop protection, and various chemistries used in different regions for crop protection, along with some interesting pecan import sampling data.
Mr. Joel Kimmelshue with Land IQ gave a much anticipated update on the “pecan mapping” project with presentations displaying the data on pecan acreage across the US. Land IQ has currently mapped 8 states and is now waiting for updated imagery to map the extent of the damage from hurricane Micheal throughout the state of Georgia.
Mr Redding with the Redding Firm gave updates on work being done in Washington DC with major issue currently being faced by the pecan industry. From issues ranging from Disaster Legislation, Trade Issues, Pecan Imports, Research and farm Labor Issues, the Pecan PAC is addressing a plethora of issues facing pecan growers and shellers with the help of the Redding Firm.
Each of the attending state association representatives updated the pecan congress about work being done by each of the respective association, this was to allow collaboration amongst state pecan associations, as well as to help prevent duplication of projects and research. One of the last topics of the day revolved around the yearly pecan crop forecast for the industry. The discussion was lively with many good suggestions, ultimately landing on the utilization of third party unbiased data to be the backbone of the pecan crop estimates moving forward.
The pecan congress culminated with a round of open discussion among all attendees, one of the topics suggested was the pecan industry’s need for more detailed consumption data, such as snack food, confectionery, ice cream or other ingredients markets. Members said this type of data would allow the industry to better gauge the effects of specific marketing campaigns while being able to determine if consumption in a specific category is waxing, waning or staying flat.
