For years now, many pecan farmers have been asking the USDA to approve a federal marketing order (FMO) for the industry. The FMO would allow the farmers in favor of the surcharge to collect mandatory dues that will go towards funding research efforts that may potentially increase the value of US pecans.
USDA Approves the Federal Marketing Order for the Pecan Industry
Earlier this year the pecan farmers’ wish was granted when the USDA finally approved the FMO the farmers had been asking for. Soon after the FMO was passed, the industry got immediately to the task of choosing potential members for their newly formed American Pecan Counsel. The counsel’s members will be responsible for deciding how the funds will be distributed.
Pecan Farmers Voted on the Proposal
Before the USDA approved the surcharge, farmers across the nation voted on the proposal via mail-in ballot. Only farmers who grow more than 30 acres or those who harvest an average of 50,000 pounds of in-shell pecans yearly were allowed to vote.
The same week voting started, the FMO proposal was garnering a lot of attention at the annual regional conference held in Las Cruces. There was agreement among a number of the 600 attendees that the FMO would be very beneficial to the industry. Many attendees and industry representatives believed the other nut industries had an advantage due to their current surcharges and felt having one of their own would help level the field.
Many farmers and harvesters were major catalysts of this belief. Despite how independent the industry had always been in the past, the surcharge would give the pecan industry a huge boost.