Pecan Gathering and Selling Tips (2024)

Preparing to sell your pecans is like everything else in life – you get out of it what you put into it. Although most buying facilities will accept your pecans in any way they come, you are assured a better offer if you’ve put effort into the presentation. This means:

1) Sort out damaged nuts. A damaged nut is any nut that is cracked, wet, extremely dark in color, hollow sounding/light in weight, has visible worm holes or a stubborn husk still attached.

Note: The horror of pecan weevils is real. They puncture the nuts in the tree, making holes and causing nuts to fall early. It’s essential to start controlling this problem in August, or as early as possible. The larvae from the adult weevils in the fallen nuts then invades the soil and can create a problem for your pecan harvest for up to 2 years afterwards.

2) Make sure your nuts are free from dirt, leaves, bugs and sticks! You can do this by going through your hull and rubbing dirty pieces with a dry rag to remove any unwanted particles. Please use gloves if you don’t want to get too messy during this process.

3) Size matters! Be careful to sort your whole pecans by approximate size.

It would behoove you to follow the above instructions because collecting these damaged nuts with your good nuts could cause a decrease in the amount you’re paid for the good material. Take the time to do these things and you shall be rewarded!

You can find local buying facilities of many shapes and sizes around the country. For convenience, below you can find a list of some options organized by state for your reference. These businesses go by various names, such as buyers, shellers, hulling and shelling services, accumulators, etc. They will be happy to purchase your pecans. Typically, people bring their pecans in bags or buckets. Approximately 15-20 lbs. of whole pecans can fit into a 5-gallon bucket. This number can change due to moisture content. The pecans should be dry and from the current year.

If you’re collecting and storing all of your pecans until the end of the season to be sold, make sure to keep them in a dry, cool place in a loose cloth sack. The time they spend in the sack will actually improve their quality of taste, acting as a curing period. Curing nuts simply means drying them out and letting their flavor become more concentrated.

At this stage, you’re welcome to shell the pecans yourself before you sell them. However, depending on the scale again, it may be easier and more worthwhile to have the buying facility shell your pecans for you after purchase. While sorting out damaged nuts is a step that could change the final buying price, shelling is not.

The trickier part about selling your pecans is the actual cost per pound. According to several buying facilities, the current market prices for pecans can change hourly. Several factors weigh into the price, but it mostly deals with the size of crop in any given year. Demand is high and rising for pecans. However, supply sometimes suffers significantly due to weather or weevils. Therefore, offers can change dramatically between the beginning and the end of the season. At the moment, a safe estimate for selling your pecans is $2.50 per pound.

The following companies will buy, crack, shell, sort and grade your pecans.

ALABAMA:

Covington Pecans
811 Virginia Ave.
Opp, AL 36467
334-493-7633
www.covingtonpecan.com

NEW BUYING POINTS for Covington Pecans:

Dothan, Alabama 36301
Robertsdale, Alabama 36567
Georgiana, Alabama 36303
Lucedale, Mississippi
Albany, Georgia
Adel, Georgia
Bainbridge, Ga
Americus, Ga 1101 N. MLK Jr. Blvd 31709
(Sandra Green)
Pelham, Ga 257 Glausier St 31779
(Sheryle Sellers)
Dothan, Al 2678 Ste 2 36303
(Jason Sasser)
Bainbridge Ga. 807 Hwy 84 East 39817
Adel Ga 911 South Huthinson Ave 31620
(Kirk Gordon)
Ashburn 114 East Washington Ave 31714
Moultrie Ga 318 East Central Ave 31768
(Jackie McMillan)
Eastman Ga 5211 Anson Ave 31023
Hazelhurst Ga 317 Baxley Hwy 31539
Albany Ga 2434 Rosebrier Unit 5 31705
(Matt Cox)

Louisville Pecan Co., Inc.
106 Victoria St.
Louisville, AL 36048
334-266-5388
www.louisvillepecan.com

Priester Pecan Company
208 Old Fort Road East
Fort Deposit, AL 36032
334-227-4301
www.priester.com

Whaley Pecan Company, Inc.
1113 Brundidge Blvd.
Troy, AL 36081
334-566-3504
800-824-8627
www.whaleypecan.com

Pretty Pond Plantation, Inc.
2010 Park Avenue North
Tifton, GA 31794
229-382-7102

Scott & Janice Craft Farms LLC
1156 Shingler Sumner Rd.
Sumner, GA 31789
229-777-8158
www.scottcraftfarms.com

South Georgia Pecan Company
309 South Lee Street
Valdosta, GA 31602
800-627-6630
www.georgiapecan.com

Stone Mountain Pecan Company, Inc.
1781 US-78
Monroe, GA 30655
770-207-6486
www.stonemountainpecan.com

Sunnyland Farms, Inc.
Albany, GA
800-999-2488
229-317-4969
www.sunnylandfarms.com
E-mail: lwillson@sfi-wfc.com

ILLINOIS:

Terri Lynn, Inc.
1450 Bowes Road
Elgin, IL 60123
847-741-1900
www.terrilynn.com

LOUISIANA:

H.J. Bergeron Pecan Shelling Plant, Inc.
New Roads, LA
225-638-9626
225-638-7667
E-mail: hjblesjr@tlxnet.net

Joe’s Pecan Custom Work
186 Persimmon Mill Road
Ferriday, LA 71334
318-757-2034

MISSOURI:

Osage Pecan Co.
909 West Fort Scott St.
Butler, MO 64730
660-679-6137
www.osagepecans.com

NEW MEXICO:

Mad Nuts LLC
565 Bar X Road
Mesilla Park, NM 88047
575-523-0023

Mesilla Valley Pecan Co.
2555 Lakeside Drive
Las Cruces, NM 88007
575-525-1524

Mimbres Valley Development Company
475 O Kelley Road SW
Deming, NM 88030
575-546-3333

Ulmer Inc.
900 Waterfront
Anthony, NM 88021
915-877-3322

NORTH CAROLINA:

B&B Pecan Processors
106 Thomson Avenue
Turkey, NC 28393
910-533-2229
www.elizabethspecans.com

Golden Peanut Company
23426 NC Highway 125
Williamston, NC 27892
252-792-4501
www.goldenpeanut.com

OKLAHOMA:

Bar T Pecans
8101 County Road 6830
Lubbock, TX 79407
806-792-7238

Durham Pecan (Dollins Pecan Company, Inc.)

308 S Houston St.
Comanche, TX 76442
325-356-5291
www.durhampecan.com

Foster Crossing Pecans
1303 West Foster Crossing Road
Anna, TX 75409
972-838-2321
www.fostercrossingpecans.com

JB Agriservices LLC
7607 Woodhaven St.
San Antonio, TX 78209
210-832-0958

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.
Selma, TX
210-651-5300
www.jbssinc.com
E-mail: jasperjr@jbssinc.com

Navarro Pecan Company
2131 Hwy 31 East
Corsicana, TX 75109
903-872-5641
www.navarropecan.com

Oliver Pecan Co.
1402 W Wallace St.
San Saba, TX 76877
800-657-9291
www.oliverpecan.com

Pecan Shed
1401 Midwestern Parkway
Wichita Falls, TX 76302
940-228-3954
www.pecanshed.com

Pecans.com
Goldthwaite, TX
800-527-1825
www.pecans.com

Potter Country Store
16 North Kessler Ave.
Schulenburg, TX 78956
979-743-2610
www.pottercountrystore.com

San Saba Pecan, LP
2803 W Wallace St.
San Saba, TX 76877
325-372-5727
800-683-2101
www.sansabapecan.com

Sun Valley Pecan Company
17600 Middle Island Rd.
Fabens, TX 79838
915-764-0710
www.surrattfarms.com

Sutton Pecan Co.
415 Main St.
Junction, TX 76849
325-446-4533

Written by Zoë Fox Waltz.

FAQs

Pecan Gathering and Selling Tips? ›

The pecans should be dry and from the current year. If you're collecting and storing all of your pecans until the end of the season to be sold, make sure to keep them in a dry, cool place in a loose cloth sack. The time they spend in the sack will actually improve their quality of taste, acting as a curing period.

Are pecans a cash crop? ›

It took a larger commercial center—New Orleans—to propel the development of the pecan as a cash crop.

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How to prepare pecans for sale? ›