LAS CRUCES - A frigid night last week and continuing cold weather since has been just what pecan growers in Doña Ana County were waiting for.
Temperatures dipped into the 20s across the county Thanksgiving night, a so-called "killing" freeze that farmers usually wait for before starting the harvest.
The sharp cold snap kills tree leaves and dries up the husks around the pecan shell, prepping nuts for the harvest.
Pecan buyer and grower Phil Arnold said after such cold weather, it typically takes several days for the orchards to dry out enough for harvesting to begin in earnest.
"Usually if you get a very hard freeze, where it freezes the husk, it takes a week until you start harvesting," he said.
Even before last week, Arnold said some farmers already had started harvesting the fringes of their orchards because some lighter freezes have already killed the leaves there.
That was the case for Anthony Pecan Co., which harvests its own orchards, as well as for other growers, said Frank Rubio, foreman with the business.
"We've already shipped a few loads," he said last week. "We did most ends on all our trees."
Some workers could be seen operating harvesting machinery Friday
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along N.M. Hwy. 28 south of Las Cruces.
Pecan trees tend to produce a heavy crop one year, an "on" year, and a light crop the next, an "off" year. This year is an "off" year.
Even so, experts have said New Mexico's production is expected to be larger than usual for a light year. A federal forecast in early October estimated that some 56 million pounds of in-shell pecans will be harvested.
The last "off" year, 2008, New Mexico's crop totaled about 43 million pounds.
Also, some growers have said they expect prices to hit record highs, thanks to the fact the nation is in a light year in the production cycle and demand for the crop has continued to escalate in China.
The New Mexico market hasn't gotten off the ground yet, said Jim Brueggen, state director for the National Agricultural Statistics Center with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And while prices are expected to be strong, Brueggen said, people in the industry are reluctant to speculate about how high they might reach.
"Until the crop is harvested and until the pecans are shelled, no one is going to commit much," he said.
Rubio said the market still seems strong.
"It's probably going to be record prices," he said. "It's better than any other year that has been."
Arnold said the chances for thievery also increase as the prices increase, one detriment of a good market year.
"I know it's a concern of pretty much every grower I've talked to," he said.
Between now and the end of the year, Arnold said, farmers will be hoping for dry weather. Rain prevents machinery from working in the orchards and has caused delays in past years. That happened in 2009.
Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443
